Somebody educate me; I really want to get Emily Dickinson

I cannot live with you,
It would be life,
And life is over there
Behind the shelf.

Emily Dickinson (1850-1886)

OK, now, people. Sometimes Emily Dickinson really guns it to the floor for me. I get those lines. But most of her stuff? I want to see what some of you think about her or maybe even poetry in general.

I LOVE poetry. But I don't understand a lot of it. I don't know whether I just don't have the patience to study it to try and dig the meaning out or I am just dense (probably the latter).

But I sort of have the feeling that poetry should be easy to understand the first time you read it or, if someone were reading it to you you would just get it, not have to study it first.

Of course, she died a long time ago and yes, the language may have changed, which can be said about any poetry written in a different century.

I don't mean to be critical at all. I have just really never gotten most of Emily Dickinson's lines. And if I'm trying to read a page of poetry I don't want to just leave exasperated. So somebody educate me please. I really want to get Emily Dickinson.