Had I not This, or This, I said,

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Had I not This, or This, I said,
Appealing to Myself,
In moment of prosperity --
Inadequate -- were Life --

"Thou hast not Me, nor Me" -- it said,
In Moment of Reverse --
"And yet Thou art industrious --
No need -- hadst Thou -- of us"?

My need -- was all I had -- I said --
The need did not reduce --
Because the food -- exterminate --
The hunger -- does not cease --

But diligence -- is sharper --
Proportioned to the Chance --
To feed upon the Retrograde --
Enfeebles -- the Advance --

© Emily Dickinson