A Melancholy Table ...

Usually I set tables for YOU. Whether you're a first-time visitor or a regular guest at Affordable Accoutrements, I value your visits tremendously. Some of the tables I set are for actual dinner parties. One was for Mrs. Rivard, a fictional (or is she?) character from a post I did for "Christmas in July" You can read it HERE.

Today, I've set a table for one, for myself, in the upstairs sitting area. It's the same table where Mrs. Rivard dined. A single place setting can be a happy thing, a special indulgence, but it can also make one wistful, heavy-hearted. I decided to focus on the latter feeling.

I replaced the usual artwork in the space with a charcoal drawing my friend, Yvonne, did a few years ago. Perhaps you'll recognize the subject. I wasn't sad when I posed for it, but she captured a certain something that makes me feel ... not depressed, but emotional, nostalgic ... yes, melancholy ...

I usually describe each item in detail and tell you how and where it was acquired.

Today, I think there should be poetry. Who better than Emily Dickenson to describe feelings of longing and loneliness?


I Had Been Hungry All The Years
by Emily Dickinson

I had been hungry all the years-

My noon had come, to dine-

I, trembling, drew the table near

And touched the curious wine.

'T was this on tables I had seen

When turning, hungry, lone,

I looked in windows, for the wealth

I could not hope to own.

I did not know the ample bread,

'T was so unlike the crumb

The birds and I had often shared

In Nature's dining-room

The plenty hurt me, 't was so new,--

Myself felt ill and odd,

As berry of a mountain bush

Transplanted to the road.

Nor was I hungry; so I found

That hunger was a way

Of persons outside windows,

The entering takes away.

Emily Dickinson
(1830 -- 1886)

Dickinson had what appears to have been a normal childhood. She was bright, witty, had friends, went to parties ... but by her early 30's began a withdrawal which later became almost complete. There were occasions when even the people she obviously loved had to speak with her from the other side of a door held slightly ajar.

While in her early 30's, Dickinson made tentative attempts at having her work published, but it was far ahead of its time and she did not meet with success.

Only seven poems were published in her lifetime, each changed by editors to suit the day's standards of rhyme, punctuation, and meter.

I HAD BEEN HUNGRY ALL THE YEARS
by Emily Dickinson.

I had been hungry all the years-
My noon had come, to dine-
I, trembling, drew the table near
And touched the curious wine.

'T was this on tables I had seen
When turning, hungry, lone,
I looked in windows, for the wealth
I could not hope to own.

I did not know the ample bread,
'T was so unlike the crumb
The birds and I had often shared
In Nature's dining-room.

The plenty hurt me, 't was so new,--
Myself felt ill and odd,
As berry of a mountain bush
Transplanted to the road.

Nor was I hungry; so I found
That hunger was a way
Of persons outside windows,
The entering takes away

China: "Medici" by Myott/Staffordshire

Flatware: Estate sale service for six, leather case, pattern unknown

Crystal decanter: Estate sale

Stemware: Water glass, Goodwill; wine glass, "Pistoia" by DaVinci

Napkin: Estate sale placemats (two)

Charger: Estate sale (serving tray)

Leather topped drum table: Antique mall, $50

Side table: Thrift store, $5 (sewing machine table) Shelf inside holds remote controls, etc.

Silverplated single candleholder: Charity thrift shop, $.50

Be sure to visit Susan at Between Naps on the Porch to see all this week's Tablescape Thursday participants. It's always great fun! Thank you, Susan for hosting.