All of them were small and narrow, Emily Dickinson beds situated in modest rooms. Once I journeyed to Amherst, Mass., solely to see Emily Dickinson’s bedroom, to breathe the sacred air. As luck would have it, I had come the wrong day for tours and was left on the stoop of the Homestead, breathing the spring air. There I pondered the 300 feet to the Evergreens next door and the well-worn path taken by Emily and her best friend, her sister-in-law, Sue.

The next afternoon Emily’s door was opened and I joined a group in a downstairs parlor where we endured a half-hour talk devoid of poetry. Finally, we were led up the stairs to the landing where Emily had stood, out of sight, above the chatter of company down in the parlor we had just left. She had little use for chatter, preferring to send a short poem, perhaps a few flowers down to the company. Lagging behind the group, I ran my hand along the banister and listened to Emily’s voice.

 

Had I not seen the Sun

The Divide

After reading Terry Golway’s column Renew-ing Theology on Tap (3/12), I hope my experience with our local program is not typical. The Archdiocese of Cincinnati sponsors a Theology on Tap program, which last summer was meeting in my neighborhood in Covington, Ky., a city across the river. Mine is a diverse inner-city neighborhood, and our parish is the most inclusive in the area. When we sing All Are Welcome, we mean it. The Theology on Tap schedule included a talk on homosexuality. Since the bar where they meet is near my house and across the street from my church, I decided to find out what they had to say on this topic. What I encountered was appalling. The talk, given by a priest from the Diocese of Covington, was reactionary, psychologically nave and deeply homophobic. At one point, in response to a question, this priest compared gays and lesbians to Nazis. Amazingly, not one member of the large, relatively young audience challenged these comments. In fact, many expressed complete agreement. If Theology on Tap is using this kind of reactionary theology to appeal to young adults, it will only deepen the divide between younger and older Catholics.

Daniel A. Burr