Dickinson Reflection

Death is like the insect by Emily Dickinson
Death is like the insect
Menacing the tree,
Competent to kill it,
But decoyed may be.

Bait it with the balsam,
Seek it with the saw,
Baffle, if it cost you
Everything you are.

Then, if it have burrowed
Out of reach of skill --
Wring the tree and leave it,
'Tis the vermin's will.

Basically she is saying death is like an insect trying to get at a tree. Death is the insect, and you are the tree. Death comes in many forms, as there are many insects in the world. And the main goal of the insect, is to get inside the tree and destroy it. Which is exactly what death tries to do. At the end of the poem, it talks about after the insect is done with the tree, it leaves it, going on to the next tree. Much the same is what death will do to you, take your life, then leave you to haunt someone else.