“Though a notorious recluse,” writes Jordan Gasse-Poore, “Dickinson often shared her baked goods with friends and neighbors. As the story goes, whenever she saw the neighborhood children playing in her family’s orchards she would fill a basket with desserts, often gingerbread, and lower it out her window (so their mothers wouldn’t see) to the children eagerly waiting below.“
Come slowly – Eden! (205)
Come slowly – Eden!
Lips unused to Thee –
Bashful – sip thy Jessamines –
As the fainting Bee –
Reaching late his flower,
Round her chamber hums –
Counts his nectars –
Enters – and is lost in Balms.
Here is the recipe, should you wish to engage in your own culinary subterfuge. Who will you corrupt?