Dickinson sets up a riddle: which is better, the full Moon or the crescent? The Moon replies that neither is — the best thing is the one you don’t have. Achieving it instantly wipes away its gleam. “You efface the Sheen” captures a melancholy truth: desire’s object loses its luster the moment you hold it. The second stanza pushes this further. Fulfillment isn’t about keeping or detaining; we almost shudder at getting what we want. The rapture (“Transport”) decays as soon as it arrives. Joy is like light through a prism — it shatters into something brief, born from a break. The mood feels both resigned and piercingly clear, as if Dickinson is turning over a small, sharp paradox: maybe the only way to keep something beautiful is never to catch it.
Which is the best -- the Moon or the Crescent? — Summary
Which is the best -- the Moon or the Crescent? Neither -- said the Moon -- That is best which is not -- Achieve it -- You efface the Sheen.
Not of detention is Fruition -- Shudder to attain. Transport's decomposition follows -- He is Prism born.