To Emily, there is no doubt that the creative imagination can endow reality with meaningfulness. She makes her position quite clear to us in her poem, "THE BRAIN IS WIDER THAN THE SKY."

THE BRAIN IS WIDER THAN THE SKY,
FOR, PUT THEM SIDE BY SIDE,
THE ONE THE OTHER WILL CONTAIN
WITH EASE, AND YOU BESIDE.

THE BRAIN IS DEEPER THAN THE SEA,
FOR, HOLD THEM, BLUE TO BLUE,
THE ONE THE OTHER WILL ABSORB,
AS SPONGES, BUCKETS DO.

THE BRAIN IS JUST THE WEIGHT OF GOD,
FOR, LIFT THEM, POUND FOR POUND,
AND THEY WILL DIFFER, IF THEY DO,
AS SYLLABLE FROM SOUND.