(Photo credit: Classical Numismatic Group, Inc. http://www.cngcoins.com via Wikipedia)
I had a guinea golden –
I lost it in the sand –
And tho’ the sum was simple
And pounds were in the land –
Still, had it such a value
Unto my frugal eye –
That when I could not find it –
I sat me down to sigh.
I had a crimson Robin –
Who sang full many a day
But when the woods were painted,
He, too, did fly away –
Time brought me other Robins –
Their ballads were the same –
Still, for my missing Troubadour
I keep the “house at hame.”
I had a star in heaven –
One “Pleiad” was its name –
And when I was not heeding,
It wandered from the same.
And tho’ the skies are crowded –
And all the night ashine –
I do not care about it –
Since none of them are mine.
My story has a moral –
I have a missing friend –
“Pleiad” its name, and Robin,
And guinea in the sand.
And when this mournful ditty
Accompanied with tear –
Shall meet the eye of traitor
In country far from here –
Grant that repentance solemn
May seize upon his mind –
And he no consolation
Beneath the sun may find.
The Bard on the Hill 
Such a lovely poem.
Yes, it is.
Sure that you already know this but just in case you don’t FYI, of the 7-star constellation, Pleiades, only 6 can be seen by the naked eye. Greek mythology depicts Pleiades as 7 sisters but one lost, Electra. It has been speculated that Ms. Emily D wrote this poem for Samuel Bowles in jest since he was a frequent traveler. The Dickinson & Bowles families were friends…
I knew about Pleiades, but not the rest. Thanks for letting us all know the story behind the poem.
This poem brought back some memories. When I was young growing up on a dairy farm we bought a stud bull and such animals were always paid for in guineas which were worth 21 shillings (an Australian pound was 20 shillings).
There were no actual guinea coins circulating at that time.
It was an old tradition which originated in England. Anyway we changed to decimal currency in 1966 (dollars and cents) so out went the guinea although some horse races still bear the name.
So “I had a golden guinea” might be a lament that one HAD it and now it’s gone on the horse race. 🙂
Yep, I guess “I lost it at the races” didn’t rhyme too well. 🙂
Oh, Emily, Emily…I can never get enough of her gentle but defining poetry!
Fortunately, she wrote close to 1800 poems, if I remember correctly.