Emily Dickinson, Poem 551:
There is a Shame of Nobleness —
Confronting Sudden Pelf —
A finer Shame of Ecstasy —
Convicted of Itself —A best Disgrace — a Brave Man feels —
Acknowledged — of the Brave —
One More — “Ye Blessed” — to be told —
But that’s — Behind the Grave —
Crikey on a cracker, if ever there’s a time for footnotes, explaining to this forelorn and slightly half-baked poetical sojourner what the devil Pelf means is it.
I have but one vow: if I’m ever confronted by a sudden Pelf, the damn Pelf will get the worst of it.
