Whatever it is -- she has tried it -- — Summary

A speaker confronts a stern but loving God—an "Awful Father of Love"—after someone dear has apparently transgressed. This "she" has already endured every trial; the speaker asks that the innocent dove not be chastised further. All prayers for the self seem useless now, as if a door has closed and words are simply handed away. What remains is a single, selfless plea: if the loved one must live in God’s "beautiful House" (heaven), grant her the small comfort of being able to think of those left on earth, so she won't be lonely. The mood is quiet and intimate, like a hushed conversation at a sickbed. The speaker’s tone is protective and tender, yet shot through with resignation—a whispered act of defiance that asks a fearsome deity for the most human of mercies: the permission to be remembered, and to remember.