Theme of Death: "I heard a Fly buzz - when I died"

I heard a Fly buzz - when I died -

The Stillness in the Room

Was like the Stillness in the Air -

Between the Heaves of Storm -

The Eyes around - had wrung them dry -

And Breaths were gathering firm

For the last Onset - when the King

Be witnessed - in the room -

I willed my Keepsakes - Signed away

What portion of me be

Assignable - and then it was

There interposed a Fly -

With Blue - uncertain stumbling Buzz -

Between the light - and me -

And then the Windows failed - and then

I could not see to see -

     In Emily Dickinson’s “I heard a Fly buzz - when I died,” the speaker takes in the smallest things about their surroundings while on the brink of death. The speaker notices the stillness in the room and refers to it as “...Stillness in the Air - Between the Heaves of Storm.” Dickinson suggests that in the worst of times, one will notice the smallest things, such as the air or the buzzing of a fly. The speaker also mentions the eyes around her being “wrung dry.” This description leads the readers to believe that the speaker is in critical health. The eyes around her have cried profusely to the point where they cannot cry anymore.
     Dickinson suggests that death is a arduous and painful experience for all those involved, but they should not dwell on a passing. The speaker is in a state of tranquility and has willed everything away. In the final scene of the poem, the fly flies between the people gathered around the speaker and light shining through the window. As she notices the light in the windows fade, she realizes that she is dead. Dickinson uses the windows to represent the speaker's eyes as the light leaves them.
     Dickinson expresses that death is a trial all humans must face, but nevertheless, life will go on. Death is the end for one, not all. Dickinson's overall moral is that everyone should spend their last moments by appreciating the little things around them.