We’ve been watching old Babylon 5 episodes for the last few months. B5 is, in my somewhat biased opinion, one of the most well written science fiction television series of all time. Unlike many of the other shows where episodes were mostly stand-alone within each season, B5 had an actual story arc. Whereas other shows had characters that stayed static, there is character development in B5. The series creator, J. Michael Strazinsky, poured his heart and soul into this series and it shows. Suffice to say I really liked the series, and was happy that my son fells the same way.

The reason I bring this up is because the episode we watched the other night pulled poetry into the script. The episode, which was titled “Day of the Dead” was written by one of my favorite authors, the incomparable Neil Gaiman. Who delivered one of the most interesting stories set in the B5 universe in the entire series.

In the episode, two characters play the game where you try and sing Emily Dickinson poems to the tune of “The Yellow Rose of Texas” (or Gilligan’s Island, or any Amazing Grace, or probably another dozen songs). My one bone to pick with Mr. Gaiman is that the first poem sung by Dodger is not a Emily Dickinson poem, but rather ”A Few Figs from Thistles” by Edna St. Vincent Millay. I mentioned this to my wife and she muttered something that sounded suspiciously like “loser” under her breath.

That little faux pass aside, Emily Dickinson does make another appearance at the end of the episode. The two characters in the scene, Garibaldi and Dodger, are going to be parted never to see each other again. Right before she goes, Dodger quotes from Emily Dickinson’s “Parting” (which I have also seen titled as #1732). Although this poem is short, it is powerful and sets up a nice paradox regarding heaven and hell. Once I finished watching the episode I knew that this had to be this week’s poem.

Parting

MY LIFE closed twice before its close;
It yet remains to see
If Immortality unveil
A third event to me
So huge, so hopeless to conceive,
As these that twice befell.
Parting is all we know of heaven,
And all we need of hell.

– Emily Dickinson