Emily Dickinson Lexicon

impotent, adj. [Fr. < L. impotentem.] (webplay: nature).

1. Inactive; passive; imperturbable; not affected; at peace; [fig.] not publishing; not actively seeking fame as a poet.
2. Impossible; futile; not feasible; not achievable; out of the question; [fig.] arduous; extremely difficult.
3. Unable; incapable; lacking power; not being able; without the ability; [fig.] indisposed; not inclined; not in a position.
4. Weak; feeble; ineffectual.
5. Meaningless; insignificant; not interesting.
6. Phrase. “impotent to end”: unstoppable; impossible to cause to desist; [the “Being” is not “impotent”; rather, it is not possible for anyone to “end” what the “Being … has begun.”]