"My Heart ran so to thee" By Emily Dickinson [Analysis]

My Heart ran so to thee [1] It would not wait for me [2] And I affronted grew [3] And drew away [4] For whatsoe'er my pace [5] He first achieve they Face [6] How general a Grace [7] Allotted two -- [8] Not in malignity [9] Mentioned I this to thee -- [10] Had he obliquity [11] Soonest to share [12] But for the Greed of him -- [13] Boasting my Premium -- [14] Basking in Bethleem [15] Ere I be there -- [16]
Poem 1237 [F1331] "My Heart ran so to thee" Analysis by David Preest [Poem]

Emily tells her beloved master how her heart ran on ahead of her and got to him first, so that she herself 'drew away' to the roadside 'affronted' or, 'in a variant reading, 'discouraged' in the competition for this 'general Grace allotted' to both herself and her heart. She does not mention this out of any ill-will towards her heart. She is just saying that if her heart had been the one to turn aside and not been greedy for her 'Premium' and 'Bethlehem' before she got there, she would have been the one 'soonest to share' the exchange of love with her master. This alleged race between Emily and her heart is a way of showing the depth of her love for him.
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