In this poem, she captures the wild essence of a bird that is able to leave at any given time, and she wishes she could do the same. While the bird is just leaving where he is at the moment, Dickinson desires to leave this life. While this dark desire is not obvious in this poem, it is outlined more specifically in “I Heard a Fly Buzz--When I Died.”
“I Heard a Fly Buzz--When I Died” is a rather morbid view of death. Dickson relates the stillness in the room to the calm before a storm, and she recalls taking her last breaths while she thinks about signing her will and taking care of her earthly duties. While she is peacefully dying, something interrupts her passing--a small and insignificant fly buzzing. The fly is symbolic of life. Dickinson is ready to die, and she is eager to do so, but this fly has an ulterior motive. It will not let her die peacefully; it keeps waking her up from her eternal