Emily Dickinson Lexicon

west (-s), n. [OE west, ON vestr, L vesper, Gk hesperos. Webster says this word may signify decline, fall, or departure, as in L. occidens.] (webplay: decline, East, heavens, star, shore, sun).

1. Hesperides; mythical land of departed souls; direction towards the Isles of the Blessed; [fig.] afterlife.
2. Occident; one of the four cardinal directions; direction where the prime vertical meets the horizon; side of the horizon where the sun sets; [fig.] dusk; twilight.