Emily Dickinson, as quoted in Selected Poems and Letters of Emily Dickinson (1959), by Robert N. Linscott, New York: Anchor Books, pp. 218–219

Has the Mexican War terminated yet, and how? Are we beaten? Do you know of any nation about to besiege South Hadley? If so, do inform me of it, for I would be glad of a chance to escape, if we are to be stormed. I suppose [our teacher] Miss Lyon would furnish us all with daggers and order us to fight for our lives.

— Emily Dickinson on Mexican–American War

What It Means

This is a placeholder explanation generated by the low-overhead model. It interprets "Has the Mexican War terminated yet, and how? Are we beaten? Do you know of any nation about to besiege South Hadley? If so, do inform me of it, for I would be glad of a chance to escape, if we are to be stormed. I suppose [our teacher] Miss Lyon would furnish us all with daggers and order us to fight for our lives." in the context of "Emily Dickinson, as quoted in Selected Poems and Letters of Emily Dickinson (1959), by Robert N. Linscott, New York: Anchor Books, pp. 218–219" to mean that wisdom is timeless.

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Source: Wikiquote: "Mexican–American War" (Quotes, D) The 'What it means' explanation text was generated by Google Gemini Flash (accessed January 18, 2026). https://gemini.google.com/app
Emily Dickinson

About Emily Dickinson

Emily Elizabeth Dickinson (December 10, 1830 – May 15, 1886) was an American poet. Virtually unknown in her lifetime, Dickinson has come to be regarded as one of the greatest American poets of the 19th century. Although she wrote (at latest count) 1789 poems, only a few of them were published in her lifetime, all anonymously, and some perhaps without her knowledge.