1 00:00:23,023 --> 00:00:24,858 Good glorious morning, daughter. 2 00:00:24,942 --> 00:00:25,817 -Dad. -Yes. 3 00:00:25,901 --> 00:00:27,194 You're up! 4 00:00:27,277 --> 00:00:28,654 You're dressed. 5 00:00:28,737 --> 00:00:30,447 You have color in your face again. 6 00:00:30,531 --> 00:00:33,075 I know. I feel 100% better. 7 00:00:33,158 --> 00:00:37,329 It turns out all I needed was a few days' rest, and now I feel fine. 8 00:00:37,412 --> 00:00:41,208 However, I have come out of my illness with an important realization. 9 00:00:41,291 --> 00:00:42,918 -What's that? -That I'm going to die. 10 00:00:43,001 --> 00:00:44,795 -What? -No tears, no tears. 11 00:00:44,878 --> 00:00:48,215 No, it's just a simple fact. I'm not long for this world. 12 00:00:48,298 --> 00:00:51,218 Yes. Life is fleeting, a brief candle… 13 00:00:52,010 --> 00:00:53,846 Bye, Eddy. 14 00:00:53,929 --> 00:00:55,264 Before you know it, I'll be gone, 15 00:00:55,347 --> 00:00:57,391 which means I have a lot of paperwork to get to. 16 00:00:59,351 --> 00:01:00,352 Paperwork? 17 00:01:00,435 --> 00:01:02,729 Yes. The situation is urgent. 18 00:01:02,813 --> 00:01:05,357 No, I have to get my entire estate in order. 19 00:01:05,440 --> 00:01:08,360 Oh, I have to redraft my will, notarize my deeds, 20 00:01:08,443 --> 00:01:10,696 and send my collected essays to the copyist, 21 00:01:10,779 --> 00:01:13,532 not to mention donating respectable sums of money 22 00:01:13,615 --> 00:01:16,034 to New England's most enriching institutions. 23 00:01:16,118 --> 00:01:17,870 Emily, the clock is ticking. 24 00:01:17,953 --> 00:01:22,499 I have to solidify my footprint on the town of Amherst, 25 00:01:22,583 --> 00:01:24,293 not to mention the world. 26 00:01:25,419 --> 00:01:26,837 I may be dead within a month, 27 00:01:26,920 --> 00:01:31,133 but people will never forget the name Edward Dickinson. 28 00:01:34,261 --> 00:01:39,766 Okay. Well, Dad, I'm so glad you're feeling better. 29 00:01:39,850 --> 00:01:42,269 There's something I wanna talk about. 30 00:01:42,352 --> 00:01:45,898 Speak quickly, please. I have some major benefactions to arrange. 31 00:01:45,981 --> 00:01:47,065 Right. 32 00:01:47,149 --> 00:01:50,736 It's just this rift between you and Austin. 33 00:01:50,819 --> 00:01:51,945 What rift? 34 00:01:52,029 --> 00:01:55,032 I mean, how Austin got drunk and said all of those terrible things, 35 00:01:55,115 --> 00:01:57,034 and then your heart literally stopped. 36 00:01:57,117 --> 00:01:58,243 Oh, all that. 37 00:01:58,327 --> 00:02:02,414 Listen, I would honestly understand if you never wanted to speak to him again, 38 00:02:03,540 --> 00:02:08,753 but I am begging you, with all my heart, please forgive him. 39 00:02:10,714 --> 00:02:12,341 Oh, my dear, dramatic child. 40 00:02:12,841 --> 00:02:15,427 I'm not the slightest bit angry with your brother. 41 00:02:16,178 --> 00:02:17,387 -You're not? -No. 42 00:02:17,971 --> 00:02:20,516 If there's one thing my brush with mortality has taught me, 43 00:02:20,599 --> 00:02:23,852 it's that life is too short to hold a grudge against my one and only son. 44 00:02:23,936 --> 00:02:25,646 Dad, I expected you to be so upset. 45 00:02:25,729 --> 00:02:28,732 Emily, it's obvious that Austin is going through something right now. 46 00:02:28,815 --> 00:02:30,400 I don't want to hold that against him. 47 00:02:30,484 --> 00:02:32,986 I want to support him in any way that I can, 48 00:02:33,070 --> 00:02:36,615 and if that means he's not gonna speak to me for a while, then… so be it. 49 00:02:37,574 --> 00:02:39,701 It's not like I'm going to write him out of my will. 50 00:02:39,785 --> 00:02:44,414 Oh, Father. That is fantastic. I can't tell you how happy that makes me. 51 00:02:44,498 --> 00:02:49,211 We can have peace. Peace in this family at last. 52 00:02:54,341 --> 00:02:56,260 Dickinson 53 00:02:56,343 --> 00:02:58,345 The Soul has Bandaged moments 54 00:03:06,937 --> 00:03:10,065 -Thought you were gonna add more ruffles. -It's a mourning dress. 55 00:03:10,148 --> 00:03:13,777 I know. And whereas other women are only in mourning for one dead husband, 56 00:03:13,861 --> 00:03:17,072 I am in mourning for the infinite number of husbands I never even get to meet. 57 00:03:17,155 --> 00:03:19,366 So we're gonna need to kick this up a notch. 58 00:03:19,950 --> 00:03:24,037 You know, in my opinion, ruffles don't really say ''grief.'' 59 00:03:24,121 --> 00:03:26,999 Really? Do you think a little more cleavage would help? 60 00:03:27,666 --> 00:03:29,918 Vinnie. Vinnie. Hi, Betty. 61 00:03:30,002 --> 00:03:31,920 Great news. Dad's not mad at Austin. 62 00:03:32,421 --> 00:03:35,340 The Dickinson war is over. 63 00:03:35,424 --> 00:03:40,053 Except, meanwhile the actual war rages on, which is why I'm gonna need your help. 64 00:03:40,137 --> 00:03:41,263 Help with what? 65 00:03:41,346 --> 00:03:43,098 I'm hosting one of our sewing circles tonight. 66 00:03:43,182 --> 00:03:46,226 Only I've renamed it "The Amherst Ladies' Aid Society," 67 00:03:46,310 --> 00:03:48,145 and we'll be making bandages for soldiers. 68 00:03:48,228 --> 00:03:51,273 Look at you, Vinnie. Doing your part. 69 00:03:51,356 --> 00:03:54,735 Yeah, so it is time to get your whipstitch on. 70 00:03:54,818 --> 00:03:57,654 Ooh, I was actually gonna do some writing tonight. 71 00:03:57,738 --> 00:03:59,907 I have so much poetry in my head. 72 00:03:59,990 --> 00:04:03,493 With all this conflict in our family, none of it has been able to come out. 73 00:04:03,577 --> 00:04:06,663 Finally, tonight I can sit in peace. 74 00:04:06,747 --> 00:04:07,998 I'm sorry. 75 00:04:08,081 --> 00:04:09,583 Peace is not an option right now. 76 00:04:09,666 --> 00:04:10,667 This country is at war, 77 00:04:10,751 --> 00:04:12,878 my ex-boyfriends are dying, and you need to help. 78 00:04:12,961 --> 00:04:13,962 I can't even sew. 79 00:04:14,046 --> 00:04:16,507 That's true. She really can't. 80 00:04:18,800 --> 00:04:20,636 Okay. We don't need to laugh about it. 81 00:04:20,719 --> 00:04:23,680 Everyone has strengths. Sewing doesn't happen to be one of mine. 82 00:04:23,764 --> 00:04:26,391 Which is why Betty will be joining us tonight. 83 00:04:26,475 --> 00:04:29,353 She's the best seamstress in Amherst. She'll teach us to make roller bandages 84 00:04:29,436 --> 00:04:31,980 and other useful things for the soldiers. 85 00:04:32,064 --> 00:04:35,150 -Even you, Emily. -That's right, but I can't stay long. 86 00:04:35,234 --> 00:04:38,195 Remember, I have a-- Oh, excuse me. 87 00:04:38,278 --> 00:04:42,574 I have a-- a houseguest. I am just exhausted. 88 00:04:42,658 --> 00:04:43,909 I didn't sleep last night. 89 00:04:43,992 --> 00:04:46,620 This houseguest of mine, she keeps me up all night. 90 00:04:46,703 --> 00:04:48,539 -Who is this houseguest? -Does she snore? 91 00:04:49,122 --> 00:04:53,252 No, she talks. I'm helping her write her life story. 92 00:04:53,335 --> 00:04:57,631 She's an incredible woman, and she's lived an extraordinary life, 93 00:04:57,714 --> 00:05:00,634 but she can't read or write, so I'm helping her get it all down. 94 00:05:00,717 --> 00:05:03,428 We've been going for three nights straight now, 95 00:05:03,512 --> 00:05:05,472 and she just doesn't stop. 96 00:05:05,556 --> 00:05:08,433 It's just story after story. I can barely keep up. 97 00:05:08,517 --> 00:05:11,687 That's amazing, Betty. What a wonderful thing to do for someone. 98 00:05:11,770 --> 00:05:15,691 -Help them write their truth. -Well, at least it gets my mind off Henry. 99 00:05:16,316 --> 00:05:17,818 No word from him yet? 100 00:05:18,402 --> 00:05:21,113 Oh, my God. What happened to Henry? 101 00:05:21,196 --> 00:05:22,948 Oh, we don't know. 102 00:05:23,031 --> 00:05:25,409 We haven't had a letter from him for over a month now. 103 00:05:25,993 --> 00:05:29,288 -Are you two still even together? -Vinnie, please. Be sensitive. 104 00:05:30,163 --> 00:05:34,126 Listen, Betty. I completely get it. 105 00:05:34,209 --> 00:05:36,962 I know what it's like to lose someone I loved, 106 00:05:37,045 --> 00:05:39,339 or, like, hooked up with once at a party. 107 00:05:39,423 --> 00:05:41,175 Henry is not lost. 108 00:05:41,675 --> 00:05:45,012 He is out there somewhere, and he's gonna write to Betty very soon. 109 00:05:45,888 --> 00:05:48,390 I hope so for Helen's sake, at least. 110 00:05:48,473 --> 00:05:52,227 He's out there. Betty, he is. I'm not giving up hope. 111 00:05:54,229 --> 00:05:55,647 Thanks, Emily. 112 00:05:56,356 --> 00:05:59,276 That… That helps. 113 00:05:59,902 --> 00:06:01,361 Well, that's all I want to do. 114 00:06:01,445 --> 00:06:02,905 -Find ways to help. -Great. 115 00:06:02,988 --> 00:06:05,908 Sounds like you will be joining the women of Amherst sewing tonight. 116 00:06:05,991 --> 00:06:08,911 Vinnie, Betty, you inspire me. 117 00:06:08,994 --> 00:06:10,871 We can all pitch in. 118 00:06:10,954 --> 00:06:13,498 We can all do our part and make this world a better place 119 00:06:13,582 --> 00:06:16,710 and fill this country with love and kindness. 120 00:06:16,793 --> 00:06:20,464 That bitch won't let me hold the baby! 121 00:06:20,547 --> 00:06:22,508 Okay, this seems like a good time for me to leave. 122 00:06:22,591 --> 00:06:24,968 See you later. Don't forget to bring an extra thimble. 123 00:06:25,052 --> 00:06:27,471 Who on God's green earth does she think she is? 124 00:06:27,554 --> 00:06:28,722 What is all this racket? 125 00:06:28,805 --> 00:06:31,016 Oh, Edward! You're out of bed! 126 00:06:31,099 --> 00:06:32,601 Yes. I started feeling better, 127 00:06:32,684 --> 00:06:34,603 so I thought I'd pop down and revise my will. 128 00:06:34,686 --> 00:06:36,813 Well, you better not be leaving anything to Sue. 129 00:06:36,897 --> 00:06:39,691 -What did she do? -She won't let me hold my own grandson. 130 00:06:40,734 --> 00:06:43,153 I am that child's only living grandmother. 131 00:06:43,237 --> 00:06:44,530 Where is the respect? 132 00:06:44,613 --> 00:06:47,783 Not to mention the fact that it was me who brought him into this world. 133 00:06:47,866 --> 00:06:50,118 Well, technically speaking, that was Sue, wasn't it? 134 00:06:50,202 --> 00:06:53,413 Oh, please. All she did was lie there and push a little bit. 135 00:06:53,497 --> 00:06:57,709 Meanwhile, I used my time-honored Norcross midwifery skills 136 00:06:57,793 --> 00:07:02,422 to guide its skull into the light, and this is how she thanks me? 137 00:07:02,506 --> 00:07:04,049 She won't even let me in the room. 138 00:07:04,132 --> 00:07:06,552 Okay, you know what? Honestly, I've always disliked her. 139 00:07:06,635 --> 00:07:09,096 Emily, I need your help. 140 00:07:09,179 --> 00:07:10,806 Me? What can I do? 141 00:07:10,889 --> 00:07:12,683 You're the only one she'll listen to. 142 00:07:12,766 --> 00:07:15,018 She was asking for you specifically just now. 143 00:07:15,102 --> 00:07:17,229 She said, "Only Emily can enter the bedroom." 144 00:07:17,312 --> 00:07:19,565 You need to go and talk some sense into her. 145 00:07:20,774 --> 00:07:23,527 Right. I was just about to go upstairs and collect my thoughts. 146 00:07:23,610 --> 00:07:25,654 Emily, we don't have time for your thoughts. 147 00:07:25,737 --> 00:07:28,407 This family is being torn apart, and if we don't act quickly, 148 00:07:28,490 --> 00:07:30,826 that child may never get to know his own grandparents. 149 00:07:30,909 --> 00:07:32,452 Oh, don't be absurd. 150 00:07:32,536 --> 00:07:35,247 The child is just a week old. Have some patience. 151 00:07:35,330 --> 00:07:38,166 Patience? What am I supposed to do, wait until he's all grown up? 152 00:07:38,250 --> 00:07:40,586 -Yeah. -Bonding starts immediately. 153 00:07:41,295 --> 00:07:43,172 I need him to know my scent. 154 00:07:43,255 --> 00:07:46,550 Edward, you've never even laid eyes on this child. 155 00:07:46,633 --> 00:07:50,179 I don't need to meet him. I already know he's gonna carry on the Dickinson name, 156 00:07:50,262 --> 00:07:52,014 and that's good enough for me. 157 00:07:52,097 --> 00:07:55,142 Speaking of which, I have to get back to my bequeathing, 158 00:07:55,225 --> 00:07:57,311 and I can't work in the midst of this hysteria. 159 00:07:57,394 --> 00:07:59,771 So please clear out, will you, please? 160 00:07:59,855 --> 00:08:02,149 I will go as soon as Emily agrees to talk to Sue. 161 00:08:05,611 --> 00:08:07,112 All right. 162 00:08:07,196 --> 00:08:09,990 Okay. I… I'll try. 163 00:08:11,366 --> 00:08:13,535 Emily, don't forget about the sewing circle tonight. 164 00:08:13,619 --> 00:08:15,829 Emily, this family is depending on you. 165 00:08:15,913 --> 00:08:17,164 Yes, Emily. Please go. Go. 166 00:08:17,247 --> 00:08:18,373 Emily, do something. 167 00:08:18,457 --> 00:08:21,877 Don't worry, everyone. Emily Dickinson is here to help. 168 00:08:28,884 --> 00:08:31,929 Is it true, dear Sue? 169 00:08:32,011 --> 00:08:33,972 Are there two? 170 00:08:39,311 --> 00:08:40,562 Go away. 171 00:08:42,397 --> 00:08:43,482 Sue, it's me. 172 00:08:44,274 --> 00:08:47,694 Emily? Come in, please. Come in. 173 00:08:52,574 --> 00:08:55,661 Come here. We have room for you here. 174 00:08:58,163 --> 00:09:01,208 He just nursed. Now he's sleeping. 175 00:09:02,459 --> 00:09:03,836 Do you want to hold him? 176 00:09:05,629 --> 00:09:08,715 Me? Oh, no, that's okay. That's-- I'd probably drop him. 177 00:09:08,799 --> 00:09:09,800 Great. 178 00:09:10,634 --> 00:09:14,763 You don't even want to touch the baby, and your mother refuses to give him back. 179 00:09:15,889 --> 00:09:18,100 Yeah, so, about that… 180 00:09:18,183 --> 00:09:21,645 Wait a minute. Did she send you over here? 181 00:09:22,896 --> 00:09:23,939 Maybe. 182 00:09:25,190 --> 00:09:28,151 -Can you just tell me what happened? -You know your mother. 183 00:09:28,235 --> 00:09:30,320 I swear she would try to nurse this baby herself 184 00:09:30,404 --> 00:09:32,281 if I gave her half a chance. 185 00:09:35,158 --> 00:09:39,872 When she's over here, all she does is criticize me, 186 00:09:39,955 --> 00:09:44,668 boss me around and give me advice that I don't need or want. 187 00:09:46,336 --> 00:09:47,337 She just… 188 00:09:48,797 --> 00:09:50,799 She just needs to respect my boundaries. 189 00:09:52,467 --> 00:09:55,053 I hear you. I totally hear you, 190 00:09:55,137 --> 00:10:00,017 but she is so desperate to bond with her first grandchild. 191 00:10:00,100 --> 00:10:04,146 Could you just cut her a little slack? Please? 192 00:10:09,067 --> 00:10:11,445 I need more time with him first. 193 00:10:13,238 --> 00:10:15,866 This baby will be a Dickinson soon enough. 194 00:10:16,742 --> 00:10:17,743 Just… 195 00:10:19,244 --> 00:10:21,163 let him be a Gilbert for now. 196 00:10:23,707 --> 00:10:25,834 All right. Let's see this little Gilbert. 197 00:10:35,844 --> 00:10:37,513 Say something to him. 198 00:10:38,722 --> 00:10:40,265 I want him to learn your voice. 199 00:10:42,392 --> 00:10:43,727 Hey, little one. 200 00:10:45,187 --> 00:10:46,855 It's your uncle Emily. 201 00:10:50,484 --> 00:10:53,862 Uncle Emily knows a man who drives a coach like a thimble. 202 00:10:55,280 --> 00:10:57,991 Turns the wheel all day with his heel. 203 00:10:59,535 --> 00:11:00,744 His name is… 204 00:11:02,162 --> 00:11:03,413 Do you know the answer? 205 00:11:04,873 --> 00:11:07,251 -Go on. Give me a guess. -Come on, baby. 206 00:11:09,044 --> 00:11:13,298 Okay, I'll tell you. His name is Bumblebee. 207 00:11:18,762 --> 00:11:20,973 Imagine the child we could raise together. 208 00:11:21,890 --> 00:11:23,100 He'd be a genius. 209 00:11:23,851 --> 00:11:26,270 A prodigy. 210 00:11:28,981 --> 00:11:30,357 Sue, that's impossible. 211 00:11:33,235 --> 00:11:34,570 Is it impossible? 212 00:11:35,112 --> 00:11:39,783 Or is it just not… what you want? 213 00:11:43,537 --> 00:11:44,872 Where's Austin? 214 00:11:44,955 --> 00:11:47,124 Out with George. 215 00:11:47,916 --> 00:11:51,962 They went to jump in Puffer's Pond. They got drunk on homemade whiskey. 216 00:11:52,045 --> 00:11:54,548 The pond? It's freezing. It's not even noon. 217 00:11:54,631 --> 00:11:57,217 Well, your brother is a child. 218 00:11:57,968 --> 00:12:01,221 He probably won't even be home for dinner. He's always out so late. 219 00:12:02,181 --> 00:12:04,933 Emily. You could come. 220 00:12:05,893 --> 00:12:10,981 We could have a little meal together by the fireside, with the baby. 221 00:12:12,274 --> 00:12:13,525 Wouldn't that be nice? 222 00:12:16,612 --> 00:12:17,613 I can't. 223 00:12:18,322 --> 00:12:19,364 Why not? 224 00:12:22,492 --> 00:12:26,246 I promised Lavinia I would go to her sewing circle tonight. 225 00:12:28,290 --> 00:12:30,542 We're making bandages for the soldiers. 226 00:12:31,543 --> 00:12:32,628 Damn it. 227 00:12:35,214 --> 00:12:36,882 Why do you always do this? 228 00:12:38,300 --> 00:12:39,301 Do what? 229 00:12:41,053 --> 00:12:42,930 Choose your family over me? 230 00:12:44,264 --> 00:12:45,974 I never-- That's not fair, Sue. 231 00:12:46,058 --> 00:12:47,434 -I'm not choosing anyone. -Shh. 232 00:12:49,353 --> 00:12:50,979 Maybe that is the problem. 233 00:12:51,939 --> 00:12:56,735 Sometimes, I would like to feel chosen. 234 00:12:59,196 --> 00:13:05,786 I would choose you over anyone, anytime, anyplace. 235 00:13:08,330 --> 00:13:11,667 My family is on the verge of tearing itself apart. 236 00:13:11,750 --> 00:13:14,795 All I wanna do is just make sure that everyone is okay. 237 00:13:14,878 --> 00:13:16,463 I'm just trying to help, Sue. I'm-- 238 00:13:16,547 --> 00:13:19,132 There are so many ways that you could be helping me. 239 00:13:23,387 --> 00:13:26,390 You know, I didn't even want to go to the sewing circle tonight. 240 00:13:26,473 --> 00:13:30,477 What I want is to be writing poems, but life keeps getting in the way. 241 00:13:30,561 --> 00:13:33,730 Yeah. Yeah, life is messy like that. 242 00:13:37,860 --> 00:13:40,445 There are poems that I wanna write for you. 243 00:13:42,614 --> 00:13:43,907 Okay, Emily. 244 00:13:44,825 --> 00:13:45,868 But-- 245 00:13:45,951 --> 00:13:49,329 But what if I need more than your poems? 246 00:13:51,248 --> 00:13:55,210 What if right now I need all of you? 247 00:14:01,300 --> 00:14:03,886 Babysitters club at your service. 248 00:14:03,969 --> 00:14:07,222 -Hey, look at that. You have help. -Yeah. 249 00:14:07,306 --> 00:14:10,559 'Cause nothing says "free domestic labor" like "adopted cousins." 250 00:14:49,973 --> 00:14:53,101 Remember to flatten your seams 251 00:14:53,977 --> 00:14:56,188 and overlap the raw edges. 252 00:14:57,606 --> 00:14:59,942 Very nice, Abiah. 253 00:15:00,901 --> 00:15:02,569 Good work there, Mrs. Dickinson. 254 00:15:02,653 --> 00:15:05,197 The soldiers are going to appreciate that pillowcase. 255 00:15:05,280 --> 00:15:06,657 Oh, thank you. 256 00:15:06,740 --> 00:15:09,743 But this isn't for the soldiers. It's for my grandson. 257 00:15:10,327 --> 00:15:13,080 Hopefully one day I'll be able to give it to him in person. 258 00:15:13,580 --> 00:15:16,792 -Mom, I tried. Okay? -Not hard enough. 259 00:15:16,875 --> 00:15:20,379 Sue isn't letting Mrs. Dickinson spend time with the baby. 260 00:15:20,462 --> 00:15:23,590 Okay, I live for the hot goss I get at these sewing circles. 261 00:15:23,674 --> 00:15:27,052 Do you know what I would give to hold my first and only grandson? 262 00:15:27,135 --> 00:15:29,596 To hear him call me "Grandmother"? 263 00:15:30,138 --> 00:15:31,390 Or maybe "Grammy." 264 00:15:31,473 --> 00:15:35,936 -Or "Gigi." Or maybe "Cookie." -The baby doesn't even have a name yet. 265 00:15:36,019 --> 00:15:39,147 But when they give him a name, don't you think he should call me Cookie? 266 00:15:39,231 --> 00:15:40,607 -It's more youthful. -Yes. 267 00:15:40,691 --> 00:15:45,195 Speaking of babies, I can't believe Jane moved to Vietnam. 268 00:15:45,279 --> 00:15:48,115 -I already got a letter from her. -Oh, my God. What does it say? 269 00:15:48,198 --> 00:15:51,076 She brought maple syrup to a restaurant in Saigon 270 00:15:51,159 --> 00:15:53,287 and made people put it on their dumplings. 271 00:15:53,370 --> 00:15:56,081 Called it "New England-Asian fusion." 272 00:15:56,582 --> 00:15:57,916 She's so canceled. 273 00:15:58,000 --> 00:16:00,961 Emily, what are you doing? You're wasting good muslin. 274 00:16:01,044 --> 00:16:04,089 Sorry, the thread just kinda took over. 275 00:16:04,173 --> 00:16:06,008 I thought you said you wanted to help. 276 00:16:06,091 --> 00:16:09,386 Yeah. No soldier's going to be able to wrap their wound in that. 277 00:16:09,469 --> 00:16:11,221 I told you guys. I can't sew. 278 00:16:11,305 --> 00:16:13,390 Then tear the stitches out and start again. 279 00:16:13,473 --> 00:16:15,100 We can't waste good muslin. 280 00:16:16,310 --> 00:16:18,312 I wish I was more like a spider. 281 00:16:18,395 --> 00:16:19,646 Excuse me? 282 00:16:21,064 --> 00:16:23,192 A Spider sewed at Night 283 00:16:23,275 --> 00:16:25,194 Without a Light 284 00:16:25,277 --> 00:16:27,487 Upon an Arc of White. 285 00:16:28,655 --> 00:16:29,865 That's so poetic. 286 00:16:29,948 --> 00:16:31,283 Yes, because it's a poem. 287 00:16:31,366 --> 00:16:33,911 -Ah… -Just keep sewing, Emily. 288 00:16:33,994 --> 00:16:36,705 Beautiful edgework, Vinnie. 289 00:16:36,788 --> 00:16:40,042 Where did you get that fabric? It has such a lovely sheen. 290 00:16:40,125 --> 00:16:42,544 I'm tearing up my old dresses to make bandages. 291 00:16:43,253 --> 00:16:47,007 Hard to believe I used to wear these dresses to look good for my suitors. 292 00:16:47,090 --> 00:16:48,884 Now the closest I'll ever get to a man is 293 00:16:48,967 --> 00:16:52,638 if he wraps his hemorrhaging leg wound in a piece of my silk. 294 00:16:53,764 --> 00:16:55,641 Girl, that is dark. 295 00:16:55,724 --> 00:16:58,602 Personally, I never thought the war would last this long. 296 00:16:58,685 --> 00:17:00,437 It seems utterly endless. 297 00:17:00,521 --> 00:17:05,108 I know. It's like… America was only founded 100 years ago. 298 00:17:05,192 --> 00:17:07,653 Is this the end of it? Already? 299 00:17:07,736 --> 00:17:11,365 Can we lighten the mood here? Does anyone have more tea? 300 00:17:11,990 --> 00:17:14,284 Tea? Oh, I didn't know you wanted some. 301 00:17:14,367 --> 00:17:16,411 Girls, go make some tea. 302 00:17:16,494 --> 00:17:18,997 No, I mean, like, "the tea," 303 00:17:19,080 --> 00:17:20,958 the gossip, the dirt. 304 00:17:21,040 --> 00:17:24,670 Here's some tea. For every three soldiers that are killed in the battlefield, 305 00:17:24,752 --> 00:17:26,255 another five die of disease. 306 00:17:26,839 --> 00:17:30,175 And of those five, all of them had wives, and girlfriends, 307 00:17:30,259 --> 00:17:32,845 and ex-girlfriends who never stopped being attracted to them. 308 00:17:32,928 --> 00:17:35,848 They just weren't in the right headspace for a relationship at the time. 309 00:17:35,931 --> 00:17:37,808 This is all about Ship and Joseph Lyman. 310 00:17:37,891 --> 00:17:40,394 Joseph Lyman died fighting for the Confederacy. 311 00:17:41,228 --> 00:17:43,355 -We're not ready for that conversation? -Is that true? 312 00:17:43,438 --> 00:17:45,399 Ow! Why are needles so sharp? 313 00:17:45,482 --> 00:17:48,819 Emily, if you can't sew, then knit something. 314 00:17:48,902 --> 00:17:51,697 I'm just not made for traditional feminine handicrafts. 315 00:17:51,780 --> 00:17:53,532 Emily, we all need to do our part. 316 00:17:53,615 --> 00:17:54,825 Yes, you need to help. 317 00:17:54,908 --> 00:17:56,410 I'm trying to help! 318 00:17:56,493 --> 00:17:58,036 All day I've been trying, 319 00:17:58,120 --> 00:18:00,706 but nothing I do seems to be making anything any better. 320 00:18:00,789 --> 00:18:02,833 We're not mending the real wounds anyway. 321 00:18:02,916 --> 00:18:04,918 What do you mean by that? 322 00:18:05,002 --> 00:18:08,505 I mean the pain that lies in people's hearts. 323 00:18:09,715 --> 00:18:13,427 The violence, the hatred, the suffering in their souls. 324 00:18:13,510 --> 00:18:15,637 That's what I want to heal. 325 00:18:16,471 --> 00:18:17,556 With my poetry. 326 00:18:18,182 --> 00:18:21,476 -Good luck with that. -What, you think poetry doesn't matter? 327 00:18:22,144 --> 00:18:26,523 Question for the group: Who's the greatest living poet in America? 328 00:18:26,607 --> 00:18:29,026 -Walt Whitman. -Correct. 329 00:18:29,109 --> 00:18:31,403 And what's Walt Whitman doing these days? 330 00:18:32,154 --> 00:18:34,990 He's a freaking nurse in a field hospital. 331 00:18:35,991 --> 00:18:39,870 Because even Walt Whitman realizes that his words don't matter right now. 332 00:18:39,953 --> 00:18:42,206 What matters are his actions, 333 00:18:42,289 --> 00:18:45,667 the work he's doing on the ground to help his fellow man. 334 00:18:46,210 --> 00:18:47,669 I'm not sure I agree. 335 00:18:48,670 --> 00:18:50,923 We publish poetry in Drum Beat. 336 00:18:51,465 --> 00:18:55,385 That's the Union newspaper my husband and I are running 337 00:18:55,469 --> 00:18:58,805 under the leadership of Abraham Lincoln himself. 338 00:18:58,889 --> 00:19:01,475 We get it. Your husband has met the president. 339 00:19:01,558 --> 00:19:04,311 Lincoln says we're doing great things for the Union. 340 00:19:04,394 --> 00:19:08,398 And soldiers love Drum Beat. They even read it on their deathbeds. 341 00:19:08,482 --> 00:19:10,400 See? Poetry can bring comfort to a dying man. 342 00:19:10,484 --> 00:19:13,320 Oh, and that's all you want to do? Give people comfort? 343 00:19:13,403 --> 00:19:17,032 Sorry, but I think we should be making people uncomfortable. 344 00:19:17,115 --> 00:19:19,576 I think we should be taking our rage to the streets. 345 00:19:19,660 --> 00:19:22,704 Women deserve the right to vote. We need to explicitly demand 346 00:19:22,788 --> 00:19:25,415 that the constitution invoke the rights of female persons, 347 00:19:25,499 --> 00:19:29,753 and we need to not tell my husband that I am saying any of this. 348 00:19:29,837 --> 00:19:32,422 You can take that kind of talk right out of my dining room. 349 00:19:32,506 --> 00:19:34,007 Well, I think poetry can help. 350 00:19:34,633 --> 00:19:36,218 Or least I hope it can. 351 00:19:37,261 --> 00:19:39,179 Otherwise my life is pretty much meaningless. 352 00:19:39,263 --> 00:19:40,681 I think Emily is right. 353 00:19:40,764 --> 00:19:41,974 Betty, go on. 354 00:19:45,769 --> 00:19:49,147 Uh, Henry is a writer. 355 00:19:49,231 --> 00:19:54,444 I blamed him for putting his writing ahead of our family. 356 00:19:54,528 --> 00:19:57,406 And it's true, it tore our family apart. 357 00:19:59,199 --> 00:20:00,242 But then it… 358 00:20:01,702 --> 00:20:04,162 His writing stitched us back together again. 359 00:20:06,498 --> 00:20:11,211 The letters that he writes Helen, that he used to write… 360 00:20:13,589 --> 00:20:15,674 They became her only source of hope. 361 00:20:17,885 --> 00:20:19,261 God, I don't know what I'm gonna do 362 00:20:19,344 --> 00:20:21,805 if Helen doesn't get another one of those letters. 363 00:20:49,124 --> 00:20:50,167 So… 364 00:20:51,710 --> 00:20:55,714 Yes, I do believe in the power of writing. 365 00:20:58,467 --> 00:21:00,552 Sometimes it's all we really have. 366 00:21:01,178 --> 00:21:04,014 That's right. That's right, Betty. 367 00:21:04,097 --> 00:21:06,433 And writing is what I'm good at. 368 00:21:07,601 --> 00:21:11,104 So what if I can't sew or knit? Or hold newborn babies? 369 00:21:11,188 --> 00:21:14,942 Or fix all the messy relationships in my family? So what? 370 00:21:15,526 --> 00:21:22,366 The best thing that I can do for the world is lock myself away and write poetry. 371 00:21:23,033 --> 00:21:25,619 But what good are your poems gonna be if you do that? 372 00:21:27,788 --> 00:21:28,789 What? 373 00:21:28,872 --> 00:21:30,624 If you can't handle the mess of the world, 374 00:21:30,707 --> 00:21:34,044 why would anyone need to hear what you have to say? 375 00:21:36,129 --> 00:21:39,466 Writing that shuts real life out… 376 00:21:41,385 --> 00:21:43,178 is as good as dead. 377 00:21:50,102 --> 00:21:52,062 Well, maybe we should get back to sewing 378 00:21:52,145 --> 00:21:55,816 because hundreds of eligible babes are out there getting their legs blown off. So-- 379 00:21:56,942 --> 00:21:58,569 My leg! 380 00:21:58,652 --> 00:22:00,529 -Incoming. Got an injury here. -Austin? 381 00:22:00,612 --> 00:22:02,197 -What's all this noise? -Are you okay? 382 00:22:02,281 --> 00:22:03,991 -The bastard got me! -What happened? 383 00:22:04,074 --> 00:22:07,202 We got into a teensy-tiny bar fight. There were broken bottles flying around. 384 00:22:07,286 --> 00:22:10,664 -One of them cut Austin's leg. -My God. He's bleeding. 385 00:22:10,747 --> 00:22:12,791 My son! My son is wounded! 386 00:22:12,875 --> 00:22:13,959 Go get the bandages! 387 00:22:14,042 --> 00:22:15,627 But those are for the soldiers. 388 00:22:15,711 --> 00:22:17,462 -Austin, sit. -Oh, Jane. 389 00:22:17,546 --> 00:22:20,048 -Sit down. -Oh! Where-- Where-- Where is Jane? 390 00:22:20,132 --> 00:22:23,093 -Jane! -How much have you had to drink? 391 00:22:23,177 --> 00:22:25,137 Not enough to drown my sorrows. 392 00:22:25,971 --> 00:22:28,557 -Austin, listen to me. I have good news. -No. 393 00:22:28,640 --> 00:22:29,808 -Good news? -Yes. 394 00:22:29,892 --> 00:22:32,227 Did the boat turn around? Is Jane back? 395 00:22:32,311 --> 00:22:35,022 -No. No, no, no. Shh. Listen to me. -No! Mrs. Dickinson… 396 00:22:35,105 --> 00:22:37,357 -Dad forgives you. -Huh? 397 00:22:38,233 --> 00:22:41,403 Yeah, I-- I talked to him, and he's not angry with you, not at all. 398 00:22:41,486 --> 00:22:43,822 -He's really taking the high road. -We've been here all day. 399 00:22:43,906 --> 00:22:46,658 And even though you said all of those awful things, 400 00:22:46,742 --> 00:22:47,951 he's not holding a grudge. 401 00:22:48,035 --> 00:22:49,494 He's totally ready to move on. 402 00:22:49,578 --> 00:22:51,246 Wow. 403 00:22:52,039 --> 00:22:54,333 Then he's even more of an asshole than I thought. 404 00:22:55,417 --> 00:22:57,503 Austin, how can you say that? 405 00:22:58,378 --> 00:23:01,798 He's just trying to deny my feelings like he always has. 406 00:23:01,882 --> 00:23:06,178 Of course, Dad would love to say that there's no problem between us. 407 00:23:06,261 --> 00:23:08,222 That's because the problem is him. 408 00:23:08,931 --> 00:23:11,391 Well, I don't give a shit what he thinks. 409 00:23:11,475 --> 00:23:13,685 I'm still seceding from this family! 410 00:23:13,769 --> 00:23:15,979 -Out of my way. My son is suffering. -No. 411 00:23:16,063 --> 00:23:18,690 But, Mrs. Dickinson, those are for the U-- 412 00:23:19,316 --> 00:23:23,153 Oh, my poor boy. Just let me nurse you. 413 00:23:23,237 --> 00:23:24,988 That's right, Mama's got you now. 414 00:23:25,072 --> 00:23:26,490 You call this seceding? 415 00:23:26,573 --> 00:23:29,076 -Jane. -Emily, get him some water. Try to help. 416 00:23:30,953 --> 00:23:31,954 Jane. 417 00:23:48,762 --> 00:23:49,763 Come in. 418 00:23:51,515 --> 00:23:53,809 Hey, Emily. Is it okay if I come in? 419 00:23:53,892 --> 00:23:57,271 George, you're not supposed to-- Okay, cool. Cool, yep, you're in my room. 420 00:23:57,354 --> 00:23:59,439 Whew. Sorry about all that ruckus. 421 00:24:00,190 --> 00:24:04,361 -I did not mean to cause such a commotion. -George, it's very late. Why are you here? 422 00:24:04,862 --> 00:24:09,199 I-- I wanted to give you something. 423 00:24:12,160 --> 00:24:13,161 The Atlantic? 424 00:24:13,245 --> 00:24:15,622 There's an article in there I thought you might like. 425 00:24:15,706 --> 00:24:19,001 "Letter to a Young Contributor." It's advice for young poets. 426 00:24:19,084 --> 00:24:20,878 By Thomas Wentworth Higginson. 427 00:24:23,088 --> 00:24:24,548 Higginson the abolitionist? 428 00:24:24,631 --> 00:24:27,092 Yeah. Dude is so cool. 429 00:24:27,176 --> 00:24:30,470 Did you know he was one of the Secret Six that funded John Brown's uprising? 430 00:24:30,554 --> 00:24:33,599 Now he's down south, fighting the war. 431 00:24:34,224 --> 00:24:37,144 Leading the Union's very first regiment of Black soldiers. 432 00:24:38,437 --> 00:24:39,813 Long journey? 433 00:24:39,897 --> 00:24:41,064 Long as hell. 434 00:24:41,857 --> 00:24:43,317 But I got here. 435 00:24:44,818 --> 00:24:46,069 That's all that matters. 436 00:24:47,654 --> 00:24:50,699 So he's out there in the heat of battle, 437 00:24:50,782 --> 00:24:53,285 and he still finds time to care about poetry. 438 00:24:53,368 --> 00:24:56,997 I mean… it's pretty rad. 439 00:24:57,080 --> 00:24:58,123 That's amazing. 440 00:24:58,207 --> 00:25:00,250 I will definitely check it out. Thank you, George. 441 00:25:01,001 --> 00:25:03,712 Yeah, I mean, take it or leave it. 442 00:25:03,795 --> 00:25:05,964 I'm sure no one can really give you advice anyway. 443 00:25:06,048 --> 00:25:08,175 You're on a whole other level. 444 00:25:08,800 --> 00:25:11,178 That's-- That's nice of you to say. 445 00:25:11,803 --> 00:25:14,723 Well, you know I've always been your biggest fan. 446 00:25:19,019 --> 00:25:21,563 I guess I've just been feeling like my poems don't even matter. 447 00:25:21,647 --> 00:25:23,232 What? That's crazy. 448 00:25:24,942 --> 00:25:29,238 With everything going on, in the world and in my family… 449 00:25:31,073 --> 00:25:33,659 maybe it'd be better for everyone if I just stopped writing. 450 00:25:33,742 --> 00:25:35,827 Writing is what you were put on this earth to do. 451 00:25:35,911 --> 00:25:37,996 Is it, though? 452 00:25:38,080 --> 00:25:41,917 Maybe I need to be doing more to really help. 453 00:25:42,000 --> 00:25:43,961 All I know is this. 454 00:25:44,044 --> 00:25:47,714 If I had to choose between you and your poems? 455 00:25:47,798 --> 00:25:48,799 Yeah? 456 00:25:49,341 --> 00:25:51,051 I'd choose your poems. 457 00:25:54,012 --> 00:25:57,140 Okay, that's actually the sweetest thing you could ever say. 458 00:26:01,103 --> 00:26:03,146 -George, what are you doing? George? -I-- Oh, uh. 459 00:26:03,230 --> 00:26:05,941 I just thought maybe with the war going on and everything-- 460 00:26:06,024 --> 00:26:07,609 George, I can't. 461 00:26:09,570 --> 00:26:13,240 My heart belongs to someone else. 462 00:26:14,241 --> 00:26:15,242 Oh. 463 00:26:16,952 --> 00:26:18,704 God, life is messy, isn't it? 464 00:26:37,556 --> 00:26:40,309 Betty's back. There's my bad bitch. 465 00:26:40,392 --> 00:26:45,272 Sojourner. That dress is the truth. 466 00:26:45,355 --> 00:26:47,983 Oh, they're gonna know I'm a woman in this dress. 467 00:26:48,066 --> 00:26:51,445 Yes, they will. They will know that you are the great Sojourner Truth, 468 00:26:51,528 --> 00:26:55,324 abolitionist, evangelist, fighter for suffrage-- 469 00:26:55,407 --> 00:26:57,284 And famously single. 470 00:26:58,118 --> 00:27:00,913 Wait. Where's your quill pen, you multitalented bad bitch? 471 00:27:00,996 --> 00:27:02,414 Let's get back to work. 472 00:27:02,497 --> 00:27:08,086 I do want to keep transcribing your memoir, but I'm just so tired. 473 00:27:08,170 --> 00:27:14,426 Betty, if I can be the first Black woman to sue a white man in court and win, 474 00:27:14,510 --> 00:27:18,263 you can stay awake one more night to write my next chapter, about how I did that. 475 00:27:19,139 --> 00:27:20,682 Okay. Okay! 476 00:27:22,559 --> 00:27:24,394 -Yes, you're right. -Yeah. 477 00:27:24,478 --> 00:27:27,564 We gotta keep fighting. Can't give up. 478 00:27:27,648 --> 00:27:29,274 -That's what Henry used to say. -That's right. 479 00:27:29,358 --> 00:27:32,694 Because I'm not gonna die. No, I'm going home like a shooting star. 480 00:27:32,778 --> 00:27:35,072 Watch me light up the night with my energy. 481 00:27:35,155 --> 00:27:36,907 Can you believe I'm 60? 482 00:27:36,990 --> 00:27:40,077 We don't know your exact birth date. 483 00:27:40,160 --> 00:27:43,497 Betty, I'm roughly 66, and I look good as hell. 484 00:27:45,207 --> 00:27:46,708 Now. Where were we? 485 00:27:46,792 --> 00:27:50,629 They just illegally sold your five-year-old son 486 00:27:50,712 --> 00:27:52,756 to a planter in Alabama. 487 00:27:52,840 --> 00:27:56,134 White people are the devil. Let's narrate. 488 00:28:01,640 --> 00:28:06,895 Writing that shuts real life out is as good as dead. 489 00:28:31,879 --> 00:28:33,297 Mr. Higginson, 490 00:28:34,006 --> 00:28:37,634 Are you too deeply occupied to say if my Verse is alive?