Dickinson Poems

I think there is a general theme in these poems of the class theme, vengeance and forgiveness.  Dickinson makes a point of placing life and death as the fulcrum of anger.  There is the message that holding hate inside throughout life won't do you any good after you are dead, and if anything it will cause problems in the afterlife.  This is her reasoning for advocating forgiveness or at least dealing with issues that you have with another person sooner than later.  She talks about this all in poem 237 and how she specifically will be received in heaven.  I believe that while she talks about herself this is intended to be a lesson for others and that they should consider their actions on earth a bit more carefully.  She is more clear that this is her intention in poem 1509 by saying, "Anger as soon as fed is dead - 'Tis starving makes it fat."  I think this is a similar message to the from Drum-Taps, the Whitman poem.  Which was written about civil war soldiers all being the same after death and that, "war and all its deeds of carnage must in time be be utterly lost."