"How many schemes may die"

By Emily Dickinson
[Analysis]
How many schemes may die [1]
In one short Afternoon [2]
Entirely unknown [3]
To those they most concern -- [4]
The man that was not lost [5]
Because by accident [6]
He varied by a Ribbon's width [7]
From his accustomed route -- [8]
The Love that would not try [9]
Because beside the Door [10]
It must be competitions [11]
Some unsuspecting Horse was tied [12]
Surveying his Despair [13]
Poem 1150 [F1326]
"How many schemes may die"
Analysis by David Preest
[Poem]
Emily gives two examples of schemes, which, because they were not carried out, were 'entirely unknown/to those they most concern.'
Firstly a traveller is not 'robbed' or 'killed' (both variants for 'lost' in line 5) because he deviates slightly from his usual route. Secondly a
suitor does not declare his love because he unexpectedly sees another man's horse tied up outside his lady's door.
Franklin omits line 11, 'It must be competitions,' and Johnson regards it as meaningless, but, put between dashes, it could be the thought of
the lover 'that would not try.'
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