Emily Dickinson
1830–1886
Emily Dickinson (1830–1886) was an American poet who spent nearly all her life in Amherst, Massachusetts. She wrote almost 1,800 poems, but fewer than a dozen were published in her lifetime, mostly anonymously and heavily edited. After her death her sister Lavinia found the manuscripts, and selections began to appear from 1890.
Her short lyrics use slant rhyme, dashes and unconventional capitals to explore death, immortality, nature, faith and the inner life. Poems such as “Because I could not stop for Death”, “Hope is the thing with feathers” and “I’m Nobody! Who are you?” made her one of the most original voices in American poetry.
Best-known poems
-
Because I could not stop for Death —
Because I could not stop for Death—
He kindly stopped for me—
The Carriage held but just Ourselves— … -
There is a pain — so utter —
There is a pain — so utter —
It swallows substance up —
Then covers the Abyss with Trance — … -
A charm invests a face
A charm invests a face
Imperfectly beheld.
The lady dare not lift her veil … -
There came a Wind like a Bugle —
There came a Wind like a Bugle —
It quivered through the Grass
And a Green Chill upon the Heat … -
The Butterfly's Assumption Gown
The butterfly's assumption-gown,
In chrysoprase apartments hung,
This afternoon put on. … -
I bet with every Wind that blew
I bet with every Wind that blew
Till Nature in chagrin
Employed a Fact to visit me …
All poems (819)
A 33
- A Bird came down the Walk —He did not know I saw —
- A Cap of Lead across the skyWas tight and surly drawn
- A charm invests a faceImperfectly beheld.
- A Sloop of Amber slips awayUpon an Ether Sea,
- Ample make this Bed —Make this Bed with Awe —
- An altered look about the hills —A Tyrian light the village fills —
- An awful Tempest mashed the air —The clouds were gaunt, and few —
- An Everywhere of SilverWith Ropes of Sand
- An Hour is a SeaBetween a few, and me —
- And this of all my HopesThis, is the silent end
- Angels, in the early morningMay be seen the dews among,
- Apocalypse (Dickinson)I'm wife ; I've finished that,
- Apotheosis (Dickinson)Come slowly, Eden !
- Apparently with no surpriseTo any happy Flower
- "Arcturus" is his other name —I'd rather call him "Star."
- Are Friends Delight or Pain?Could Bounty but remain
- As by the dead we love to sit,Become so wondrous dear —
- As Children bid the Guest "Good Night"And then reluctant turn,
- As far from pity, as complaint —As cool to speech — as stone —
- As if I asked a common Alms,Version 1
- As if some little Arctic flowerUpon the polar hem —
- As if the Sea should partAnd show a further Sea —
- As imperceptibly as GriefThe Summer lapsed away —
- As Summer into Autumn slipsAnd yet we sooner say
- Ashes denote that Fire was —Revere the Grayest Pile
- At Half past Three, a single BirdUnto a silent Sky
- At last, to be identified!At last, the lamps upon thy side
- At least — to pray — is left — is left —Oh Jesus — in the Air —
- At leisure is the SoulThat gets a Staggering Blow —
- Autumn (Dickinson)The morns are meeker than they were,
- Autumn — overlooked my Knitting —Dyes — said He — have I —
- Awake ye muses nine, sing me a strain divine,Unwind the solemn twine, and tie my Valentine!
- Away from Home are some and I —An Emigrant to be
B 20
- Beauty crowds me till I dieBeauty mercy have on me
- Beauty — be not caused — It Is —Chase it, and it ceases —
- Because I could not stop for Death —He kindly stopped for me—
- BecloudedThe sky is low, the clouds are mean,
- Before He comes we weigh the Time!'Tis Heavy and 'tis Light.
- Before I got my eye put outI liked as well to see —
- Before the ice is in the pools —Before the skaters go,
- Before you thought of SpringExcept as a Surmise
- Behind Me — dips Eternity —Before Me — Immortality —
- Belshazzar had a Letter —He never had but one ;
- BequestYou left me, sweet, two legacies, —
- Bereaved of all, I went abroad —No less bereaved was I
- Besides the Autumn poets singA few prosaic days
- Best Gains — must have the Losses' Test —To constitute them — Gains —
- Birthday of but a single pangThat there are less to come —
- Blazing in Gold and quenching in PurpleLeaping like Leopards to the Sky
- Bless God, he went as soldiers,His musket on his breast —
- Bloom upon the Mountain — stated —Blameless of a Name —
- Bring me the sunset in a cup,Reckon the morning's flagons up
- By my Window have I for SceneryJust a Sea — with a Stem —
C 10
- Candor — my tepid friend —Come not to play with me —
- Color — Caste — Denomination —These — are Time's Affair —
- Come slowly - Eden!Lips unused to Thee -
- Conjecturing a ClimateOf unsuspended Suns —
- Conscious am I in my Chamber,Of a shapeless friend —
- Could I but ride indefiniteAs doth the Meadow Bee
- Could mortal lip divineThe undeveloped Freight
- Could — I do more — for Thee —Wert Thou a Bumble Bee —
- Count not that far that can be had,Though sunset lie between —
- Crisis is sweet and yet the HeartUpon the hither side
D 25
- Dare you see a Soul at the White Heat?Then crouch within the door —
- Dear March — Come in —How glad I am —
- Death and LifeApparently with no surprise
- Death is a Dialogue betweenThe spirit and the dust.
- Death is like the insectMenacing the tree,
- Death sets a Thing significantThe Eye had hurried by
- Defrauded I a Butterfly —The lawful Heir — for Thee —
- Delayed till she had ceased to know —Delayed till in its vest of snow
- Delight is as the flight —Or in the Ratio of it,
- Delight — becomes pictorial —When viewed through Pain —
- Denial — is the only factPerceived by the Denied —
- Departed — to the Judgment —A mighty afternoon ;
- Dew — is the Freshet in the Grass —'Tis many a tiny Mill
- Did the Harebell loose her girdleTo the lover Bee
- Distance — is not the Realm of FoxNor by Relay of Bird
- Don't put up my Thread and Needle —I'll begin to Sew
- Doom is the House without the Door —'Tis entered from the Sun —
- Doubt Me! My Dim Companion!Why, God, would be content
- Down Time's quaint streamWithout an oar
- Drab Habitation of Whom?Tabernacle or Tomb —
- Drama's Vitallest Expression is the Common DayThat arise and set about Us —
- Dropped into the Ether Acre —Wearing the Sod Gown —
- Drowning is not so pitifulAs the attempt to rise
- Dust is the only Secret —Death, the only One
- DyingThe sun kept setting, setting still ;
E 18
- Each Life Converges to some Centre —Expressed — or still —
- Each that we lose takes part of us;A crescent still abides,
- Eden is that old-fashioned HouseWe dwell in every day
- Elijah's Wagon knew no thillWas innocent of Wheel
- Elysium is as far as toThe very nearest Room
- Emancipation (Dickinson)No rack can torture me,
- Empty my Heart, of Thee —Its single Artery —
- Essential Oils — are wrung —The Attar from the Rose
- Except the Heaven had come so near —So seemed to choose My Door —
- Except the smaller sizeNo lives are round —
- Except to heave she is noughtExcept to heaven, she is nought ;
- Except to Heaven, she is nought.Except for Angels — lone.
- ExclusionThe soul selects her own society,
- Exhilaration is the BreezeThat lifts us from the Ground
- Expectation — is Contentment —Gain — Satiety —
- Experience is the Angled RoadPreferred against the Mind
- Experiment to meIs every one I meet
- Exultation is the goingOf an inland soul to sea,
F 25
- Faith — is the Pierless BridgeSupporting what We see
- "Faith" is a fine inventionFor Gentlemen who see!
- Fame is a fickle foodUpon a shifting plate
- Far from Love the Heavenly FatherLeads the Chosen Child,
- Fate slew Him, but He did not drop —She felled — He did not fall —
- Few, yet enough,Enough is One —
- Finite — to fail, but infinite to Venture —For the one ship that struts the shore
- Follow wise OrionTill you waste your Eye —
- For Death — or ratherFor the Things 'twould buy —
- For each ecstatic instantWe must an anguish pay
- For Each Ecstatic InstantWe must an anguish pay
- For every Bird a Nest —Wherefore in timid quest
- Forbidden Fruit a flavor hasThat lawful Orchards mocks —
- Forever at His side to walk —The smaller of the two!
- Forever honored by the TreeWhose Apple Winterworn
- Forever — is composed of Nows —'Tis not a different time —
- Found WantingBelshazzar had a letter,—
- Frequently the woods are pink -Frequently, are brown.
- From all the Jails the Boys and GirlsEcstatically leap —
- From Blank to Blank —A Threadless Way
- From Cocoon forth a ButterflyAs Lady from her Door
- From the ChrysalisMy cocoon tightens, colors tease,
- From Us She wandered now a Year,Her tarrying, unknown,
- Funny — to be a Century —And see the People — going by —
- Further in Summer than the BirdsPathetic from the Grass -
G 18
- Garland for Queens, may be —Laurels — for rare degree
- Give little Anguish —Lives will fret —
- Given in Marriage unto TheeOh thou Celestial Host —
- Glee — The great storm is over —Four have recovered the land ;
- Glory is that bright tragic thingThat for an instant
- Glowing is her Bonnet,Glowing is her Cheek,
- Go slow, my soul, to feed thyselfUpon his rare approach —
- God gave a Loaf to every Bird —But just a Crumb — to Me —
- God is a distant — stately Lover —Woos, as He states us — by His Son —
- God made a little Gentian —It tried — to be a Rose —
- God made no act without a cause,Nor heart without an aim,
- God permits industrious Angels —Afternoons — to play —
- Going to Heaven!I don't know when —
- Going to Him! Happy letter!Tell Him —
- Good Morning — Midnight —I'm coming Home —
- Good Night! Which put the Candle out?A jealous Zephyr — not a doubt —
- Great Streets of silence led awayTo Neighborhoods of Pause —
- Growth of Man — like Growth of Nature —Gravitates within —
H 39
- Had I presumed to hope —The loss had been to Me
- Had this one Day not been.Or could it cease to be
- Have you got a Brook in your little heart,Where bashful flowers blow,
- He ate and drank the precious Words —His Spirit grew robust —
- He fumbles at your SoulAs Players at the Keys
- He preached upon "Breadth" till it argued him narrow —The Broad are too broad to define
- He put the Belt around my lifeI heard the Buckle snap —
- He touched me, so I live to knowThat such a day, permitted so,
- Heart! We will forget him!You and I — tonight!
- Heart, not so heavy as mineWending late home —
- Heart, We Will Forget Him!You an I, tonight!
- HeavenI Never saw a moor,
- Heaven is so far of the MindThat were the Mind dissolved —
- "Heaven" has different Signs — to me —Sometimes, I think that Noon
- "Heaven" — is what I cannot reach!The Apple on the Tree —
- Her breast is fit for pearls,But I was not a "Diver" —
- Her final Summer was it —And yet We guessed it not —
- Her Grace is all she has —And that, so least displays —
- Her Losses make our Gains ashamed —She bore Life's empty Pack
- Her sovereign PeopleNature knows as well
- Her — "last Poems" —Poets — ended —
- High from the earth I heard a bird,He trod upon the trees
- His Bill an Auger isHis Head, a Cap and Frill
- His Cheek is his Biographer —As long as he can blush
- His Feet are shod with Gauze —His Helmet, is of Gold,
- His little Hearse like FigureUnto itself a Dirge
- His mind of man, a secret makesI meet him with a start
- Hope is a subtle Glutton —He feeds upon the Fair —
- "Hope" is the thing with feathers —That perches in the soul
- How brittle are the PiersOn which our Faith doth tread —
- How dare the robins sing,When men and women hear
- How destitute is heWhose Gold is firm
- How happy is the little StoneThat rambles in the Road alone,
- How many Flowers fail in Wood —Or perish from the Hill —
- How many times these low feet staggered —Only the soldered mouth can tell —
- How much of Source escapes with thee —How chief thy sessions be —
- How noteless Men, and Pleiads, stand,Until a sudden sky
- How still the Bells in Steeples standTill swollen with the Sky
- How the old Mountains drip with SunsetHow the Hemlocks burn —
I 155
- I am ashamed — I hide —What right have I — to be a Bride —
- I asked no other thing —No other was denied.
- I bet with every Wind that blewTill Nature in chagrin
- I breathed enough to take the Trick —And now, removed from Air —
- I bring an unaccustomed wineAnd so I always bear the cup
- I Came to buy a smile — today —But just a single smile —
- I can wade Grief —Whole Pools of it —
- I can't tell you — but you feel it —Nor can you tell me —
- I cannot be ashamedBecause I cannot see
- I cannot dance upon my Toes —No Man instructed me —
- I cannot live with You —It would be Life —
- I cannot see my soul but know 'tis thereNor ever saw his house nor furniture,
- I cautious, scanned my little life —I winnowed what would fade
- I cried at Pity — not at Pain —I heard a Woman say
- I did not reach TheeBut my feet slip nearer every day
- I died for Beauty — but was scarceAdjusted in the tomb,
- I dreaded that first Robin, so,But He is mastered, now,
- I dwell in Possibility —A fairer House than Prose —
- I envy Seas, whereon He rides —I envy Spokes of Wheels
- I fear a Man of frugal Speech —I fear a Silent Man —
- I felt a Cleaving in my Mind —As if my Brain had split —
- I felt a Funeral, in my Brain,And Mourners to and fro
- I fit for them —I seek the Dark
- I found the words to every thoughtI ever had — but One —
- I gained it so —By Climbing slow —
- I gave myself to himAnd took himself for pay.
- I gave myself to Him —And took Himself, for Pay,
- I got so I could take his name —Without — Tremendous gain —
- I had a daily BlissI half indifferent viewed
- I had a guinea golden —I lost it in the sand —
- I had been hungry, all the Years —My Noon had Come — to dine —
- I had no Cause to be awake —My Best — was gone to sleep —
- I had no time to Hate —Because
- I had not minded — Walls —Were Universe — one Rock —
- I have a King, who does not speak —So — wondering — thro' the hours meek
- I have no Life but this —To lead it here —
- I haven't told my garden yet —Lest that should conquer me.
- I heard a Fly buzz — when I died —The Stillness in the Room
- I held a Jewel in my fingers —And went to sleep —
- I hide myself within my flower,That fading from your Vase,
- I know a place where Summer strivesWith such a practised Frost —
- I know lives, I could missWithout a Misery —
- I know some lonely Houses off the RoadA Robber'd like the look of —
- I know that He exists.Somewhere — in Silence —
- I like a look of Agony,Because I know it's true —
- I like to see it lap the Miles —And lick the Valleys up —
- I live with Him — I see His face —I go no more away
- I lived on Dread —To Those who know
- I Lost a WorldI lost a World - the other day!
- I lost a World — the other day!Has Anybody found?
- I make His Crescent fill or lack —His Nature is at Full
- I many times thought Peace had comeWhen Peace was far away —
- I meant to find Her when I came —Death — had the same design —
- I meant to have but modest needs —Such as Content — and Heaven —
- I measure every Grief I meetWith narrow, probing, Eyes —
- I never felt at Home — Below —-And in the Handsome Skies
- I never hear the word "escape"Without a quicker blood,
- I never lost as much but twice, (unsourced)I never lost as much but twice,
- I never saw a Moor —I never saw the Sea--
- I never told the buried goldUpon the hill — that lies —
- I noticed People disappearedWhen but a little child —
- I pay — in Satin Cash —You did not state — your price —
- I prayed, at first, a little Girl,Because they told me to —
- I read my sentence — steadily —Reviewed it with my eyes,
- I reason, Earth is short —And anguish absolute,
- I reckon — when I count it all —I reckon — when I count at all —
- I robbed the Woods —The trusting Woods.
- I rose — because He sank —I thought it would be opposite —
- I saw that the Flake was on itBut plotted with Time to dispute —
- I see thee better — in the Dark —I do not need a Light —
- I send Two Sunsets —Day and I—in competition ran—
- I shall know why — when Time is over —And I have ceased to wonder why ;
- I should have been too glad, I see —Too lifted — for the scant degree
- I should not dare to be so sadSo many Years again —
- I should not dare to leave my friend,Because — because if he should die
- I showed her Heights she never saw —"Would'st Climb," I said?
- I sing to use the WaitingMy Bonnet but to tie
- I started Early — Took my Dog —And visited the Sea —
- I stepped from Plank to PlankA slow and cautious way
- I stole them from a Bee —Because — Thee —
- I tend my flowers for thee —Bright Absentee!
- I think just how my shape will rise —When I shall be "forgiven" —
- I think that the Root of the Wind is Water —It would not sound so deep
- I think the Hemlock likes to standUpon a Marge of Snow —
- I tie my Hat — I crease my Shawl —Life's little duties do — precisely —
- I took my Power in my Hand —And went against the World —
- I took one Draught of Life —I'll tell you what I paid —
- I tried to think a lonelier ThingThan any I had seen —
- I watcher her face to see which wayI watched her face to see which way
- I went to Heaven —'Twas a small Town —
- I went to thank Her —But she slept ;
- I worked for chaff and earning WheatWas haughty and betrayed.
- I would distil a cup,And bear to all my friends,
- I Years had been from HomeAnd now before the Door
- I'll send the feather from my Hat!Who knows — but at the sight of that
- I'll tell you how the Sun rose —A Ribbon at a time —
- I'm "wife" — I've finished that —That other state —
- I'm ceded — I've stopped being Theirs —The name They dropped upon my face
- I'm Nobody! Who are you?Are you nobody, too?
- I'm sorry for the Dead — Today —It's such congenial times
- I'm the little "Heart's Ease"!I don't care for pouting skies!
- I've got an arrow here.Loving the hand that sent it
- I've known a Heaven, like a Tent —To wrap its shining Yards —
- I've nothing else — to bring, You know —So I keep bringing These —
- I've seen a Dying EyeRun round and round a room
- If anybody's friend be deadIt's sharpest of the theme
- If He were living — dare I ask —And how if He be dead —
- If I can stop one Heart from breakingI shall not live in vain ;
- If I could tell how glad I wasI should not be so glad —
- If I may have it, when it's dead,I'll be contented — so —
- If I shouldn't be aliveWhen the robins come,
- If Nature smiles — the Mother mustI'm sure, at many a whim
- If pain for peace preparesLo, what "Augustan" years
- If recollecting were forgetting,If recollecting is forgetting,
- If she had been the MistletoeAnd I had been the Rose —
- If the foolish, call them "flowers" —Need the wiser, tell?
- If What we could — were what we would —Criterion — be small —
- If You Were Coming in the FallI'd brush the summer by
- Immortal is an ample wordWhen what we need is by
- Immured in Heaven!What a Cell!
- In lands I never saw — they sayImmortal Alps look down —
- In Winter in my RoomI came upon a Worm —
- Inconceivably solemn!Things go gay
- Is Bliss then, such Abyss,I must not put my foot amiss
- Is Heaven a Physician?They say that He can heal —
- Is it too late to touch you, Dear?We this moment knew —
- Is it true, dear Sue?Are there two?
- It always felt to me — a wrongTo that Old Moses — done —
- It can't be "Summer"!That — got through!
- It ceased to hurt me, though so slowI could not feel the Anguish go —
- It dropped so low — in my Regard —I heard it hit the Ground —
- It feels a shame to be Alive —When Men so brave — are dead —
- It is an honorable ThoughtAnd make One lift One's Hat
- It is easy to work when the soul is at play —But when the soul is in pain —
- It makes no difference abroad —The Seasons — fit — the same —
- It might be lonelierWithout the Loneliness —
- It sifts from Leaden Sieves —It powders all the Wood.
- It sounded as if the Streets were runningAnd then — the Streets stood still —
- It stole along so stealthySuspicion it was done
- It struck me — every Day —The Lightning was as new
- It tossed — and tossed —A little Brig I knew — o'ertook by Blast —
- It was a quiet way —He asked if I was his —
- It was not Death, for I stood up,And all the Dead, lie down —
- It was not Saint — it was too large —Nor Snow — it was too small —
- It was too late for Man —But early yet for God ;
- It will be Summer — eventually.Ladies — with parasols —
- It would never be Common — more — I said —Difference — had begun —
- It's All I Have to Bring TodayThis, and my heart beside--
- It's all I have to bring today —This, and my heart beside —
- It's coming — the postponeless Creature —It gains the Block — and now — it gains the Door —
- It's easy to invent a Life —God does it — every Day —
- It's like the Light —A fashionless Delight —
- It's Such a Little ThingIt's such a little thing to weep,
- It's such a little thing to weep —So short a thing to sigh —
- Its Hour with itselfThe Spirit never shows.
J 4
L 12
- Lay this Laurel on the OneToo intrinsic for Renown —
- Let down the Bars, Oh Death —The tired Flocks come in
- Let me not mar that perfect DreamBy an Auroral stain
- Lifeour share of night to bear,
- Life, and Death, and Giants —Such as These — are still —
- Lightly stepped a yellow starTo its lofty place —
- Like Brooms of SteelThe Snow and Wind
- Like Men and Women Shadows walkUpon the Hills Today —
- Like Mighty Foot Lights — burned the RedAt Bases of the Trees —
- Like Some Old fashioned MiracleWhen Summertime is done —
- Like Trains of Cars on Tracks of PlushI hear the level Bee —
- LoveChoice
M 17
- MorningWill there really be a morning?
- Much Madness is divinest Sense —To a discerning eye ;
- Musicians wrestle everywhere —All day — among the crowded air
- My Cocoon tightens — Colors tease —I'm feeling for the Air —
- My country need not change her gown,Her triple suit as sweet
- My Faith is larger than the Hills —So when the Hills decay —
- My friend must be a Bird —Because it flies!
- My life closed twice before its close —It yet remains to see
- My Life had stood — a Loaded Gun —In Corners — till a Day
- My Maker — let me beEnamored most of thee —
- My nosegays are for Captives —Dim — expectant eyes,
- My period had come for Prayer —No other Art — would do —
- My Portion is Defeat — today —A paler luck than Victory —
- My River runs to thee —Blue Sea! Wilt welcome me?
- My Soul — accused me — And I quailed —As Tongue of Diamond had reviled
- My wheel is in the dark!I cannot see a spoke
- My Worthiness is all my Doubt —His Merit — all my fear —
N 24
- NatureThe waking YEAR
- Nature and God — I neither knewYet Both so well knew me
- Nature rarer uses YellowThan another Hue.
- Nature — the Gentlest Mother is,Impatient of no Child —
- New feet within my garden go —New fingers stir the sod ;
- No Autumn's intercepting ChillAppalls this Tropic Breast —
- No Brigadier throughout the YearSo civic as the Jay —
- No Crowd that has occurredExhibit — I suppose
- No Life can pompless pass away —The lowliest career
- No matter where the Saints abide,They make their Circuit fair
- No Other can reduceOur mortal Consequence
- No Rack can torture me —My Soul — at Liberty —
- No Romance sold untoCould so enthrall a Man
- Nobody knows this little Rose —It might a pilgrim be
- Not "Revelation" — 'tis — that waits,But our unfurnished eyes —
- Not all die early, dying young —Maturity of Fate
- Not any higher stands the GraveFor Heroes than for Men —
- Not any more to be lacked —Not any more to be known —
- Not any sunny toneFrom any fervent zone
- Not in this World to see his face —Sounds long — until I read the place
- Not knowing when the Dawn will come,I open every Door,
- Not One by Heaven defrauded stay —Although he seem to steal
- Not with a Club, the Heart is brokenNor with a Stone —
- Now I lay thee down to Sleep —I pray the Lord thy Dust to keep —
O 33
- Obtaining but our own ExtentIn whatsoever Realm —
- Of all the Souls that stand create —I have elected — One —
- Of all the Sounds despatched abroad,There's not a Charge to me
- Of Being is a BirdThe likest to the Down
- Of Bronze — and Blaze —The North — Tonight —
- Of Course — I prayed —And did God Care?
- Of nearness to her sundered ThingsThe Soul has special times —
- Of so divine a LossWe enter but the Gain,
- Of this is Day composedA morning and a noon
- Of Tolling Bell I ask the cause?"A Soul has gone to Heaven"
- Of Tribulation, these are They,Denoted by the White —
- Oh Shadow on the Grass,Art thou a Step or not?
- On a Columnar Self —How ample to rely
- On my volcano grows the GrassA meditative spot —
- On such a night, or such a night,Would anybody care
- On this long storm the Rainbow rose —On this late morn the sun ;
- On this wondrous seaOn this woundrous sea - sailing silently -
- One and One — are One —Two — be finished using —
- One Blessing had I than the restSo larger to my Eyes
- One Day is there of the SeriesTermed Thanksgiving Day.
- One dignity delays for all —One mitred afternoon.
- One Life of so much Consequence!Yet I — for it — would pay —
- One need not be a Chamber — to be Haunted —One need not be a House —
- One of the ones that Midas touchedWho failed to touch us all
- One Sister have I in our house,And one, a hedge away.
- One thing of it we borrowAnd promise to return —
- Only a Shrine, but Mine —I made the Taper shine —
- Opinion is a flitting thing,But Truth, outlasts the Sun —
- Our journey had advanced —Our feet were almost come
- Our lives are Swiss —So still — so Cool —
- Ourselves we do inter with sweet derision.The channel of the dust who once achieves
- Out of sight? What of that?See the Bird — reach it!
- Over and over, like a Tune —The Recollection plays —
P 23
- Pain — expands the Time —Ages coil within
- Pain — has an Element of Blank —It cannot recollect
- Papa above!Regard a Mouse
- Perception of an object costsPrecise the Object's loss —
- Perhaps you think me stoopingI'm not ashamed of that
- Perhaps you'd like to buy a flower,But I could never sell.
- Peril as a PossessionPeril as a Possesssion
- Pigmy seraphs — gone astray —Velvet people from Vevay —
- Pink — small — and punctual —Aromatic — low —
- PlaymatesGod permits industrious angels
- Poems (Dickinson)/I never lost as much but twice,I never lost as much but twice,
- Poems (Dickinson)/I taste a liquor never brewedI TASTE a liquor never brewed,
- Poor little Heart!Did they forget thee?
- Portraits are to daily facesAs an Evening West,
- Prayer is the little implementThrough which Men reach
- Presentiment is not long shadowPresentiment is that long shadow on the lawn
- Presentiment — is that long Shadow — on the Lawn —Indicative that Suns go down —
- ProofThat I did always love,
- Proud of My Broken HeartProud of my broken heart since thou didst break it,
- Proud of my broken heart, since thou didst break it,Proud of the pain I did not feel till thee,
- Psalm of the DayStill rears the East her amber flag,
- Publication — is the AuctionOf the Mind of Man —
- Purple CloverContending with the grass,
R 12
- Read — Sweet — how others — strove —Till we — are stouter —
- RealI like a look of agony
- Rehearsal to OurselvesOf a Withdrawn Delight —
- Remembrance has a Rear and Front —'Tis something like a House —
- Remorse — is Memory — awake —Her companies astir,---
- RenunciationThe hours slid fast, as hours will,
- Renunciation — is a piercing Virtue —The letting go
- ResurgamAt last to be identified !
- Resurrection (Dickinson)'T was a long parting, but the time
- Reverse cannot befallThat fine Prosperity
- Revolution is the PodSystems rattle from
- Rouge et NoirSoul, wilt thou toss again ?
S 52
- Safe Despair it is that raves —Agony is frugal.
- Safe in their alabaster chambers (Dickinson, 1886)Safe in their alabaster chambers,
- Savior! I've no one else to tell —And so I trouble thee.
- Setting SailExultation is the going
- She dealt her pretty words like Blades —How glittering they shone —
- She died at play,Gambolled away
- She died — this was the way she died.And when her breath was done
- She laid her docile Crescent downAnd this confiding Stone
- She rose to His Requirement — droptThe Playthings of Her Life
- She slept beneath a tree —Remembered but by me.
- She sweeps with many-colored Brooms —And leaves the Shreds behind —
- She went as quiet as the DewFrom a familiar flower.
- Sic transit gloria mundi"How doth the busy bee,"
- Sleep is supposed to beBy souls of sanity,
- So bashful when I spied her!So pretty, so ashamed !
- So from the mouldScarlet and Gold
- So gay a FlowerBereaves the Mind
- So glad we are — a Stranger'd deem'Twas sorry, that we were —
- So much of Heaven has gone from EarthThat there must be a Heaven
- So proud she was to dieIt made us all ashamed
- So set its Sun in TheeWhat Day be dark to me —
- So the Eyes accost — and sunderIn an Audience —
- So well that I can live without —I love thee — then How well is that?
- Softened by Time's consummate plush,How sleek the woe appears
- Soil of Flint, if steady tilled —Will refund by Hand —
- Some Days retired from the restIn soft distinction lie
- Some keep the Sabbath going to Church —I keep it, staying at Home —
- Some Rainbow — coming from the Fair!Some Vision of the World Cashmere —
- Some say goodnight — at night —I say goodnight by day —
- Some things that fly there be —Birds — Hours — the Bumblebee —
- Some — Work for Immortality —The Chiefer part, for Time —
- Some, too fragile for winter windsThe thoughtful grave encloses —
- Sometimes with the HeartSeldom with the Soul
- Soul, Wilt thou toss again?By just such a hazard
- South Winds jostle them —Bumblebees come —
- Speech is one symptom of AffectionAnd Silence one —
- Split the Lark — and you'll find the Music —Bulb after Bulb, in Silver rolled —
- Step lightly on this narrow spot —The broadest Land that grows
- Strong Draughts of Their Refreshing MindsTo drink — enables Mine
- Summer begins to have the lookPeruser of enchanting Book
- Summer for thee, grant I may beWhen Summer days are flown!
- Summer ShowerA drop fell on the apple tree,
- Summer's ArmiesOn fence and roof and twig.
- Sunset at Night — is natural —But Sunset on the Dawn
- Superfluous were the SunWhen Excellence be dead
- Superiority to FateIs difficult to gain
- Surgeons must be very carefulWhen they take the knife!
- Surrender (Dickinson)Doubt me, my dim companion !
- SuspenseElysium is as far as to
- Suspense — is Hostiler than Death —Death — tho'soever Broad,
- Sweet hours have perished here;This is a timid room -
- Sweet is the swamp with its secrets,Until we meet a snake;
T 221
- Take all away from me, but leave me Ecstasy,And I am richer then than all my Fellow Men —
- Take all away —The only thing worth larceny
- Taken from men — this morning —Carried by men today —
- Talk with prudence to a BeggarOf "Potose," and the mines!
- Teach Him — When He makes the names —Such an one — to say —
- Than Heaven more remote,For Heaven is the root,
- That I did always loveI bring thee Proof
- That is solemn we have endedBe it but a Play
- That Love is all there is,Is all we know of Love;
- That she forgot me was the leastI felt it second pain
- That short — potential stirThat each can make but once —
- That Such have died enable UsThe tranquiller to die —
- The Admirations — and Contempts — of time —Show justest — through an Open Tomb —
- The Bat is dun, with wrinkled Wings —Like fallow Article —
- The Battle fought between the SoulAnd No Man — is the One
- The Bee (Dickinson)Like trains of cars on tracks of plush
- The Bee is not afraid of me.I know the butterfly ;
- The Bible is an antique Volume —Written by faded men
- The Blunder is in estimate.Eternity is there
- The Body grows without —The more convenient way —
- The Bone that has no Marrow,What Ultimate for that?
- The Brain — is wider than the Sky —For — put them side by side —
- The Brain, within its GrooveRuns evenly — and true —
- The Bustle in a HouseThe morning after death
- The Butterfly in honored DustAssuredly will lie
- The butterfly obtainsBut little sympathy
- The Butterfly upon the Sky,That doesn't know its Name
- The Butterfly's Assumption GownIn chrysoprase apartments hung,
- The ChariotWe paused before a house that seemed
- The Child's faith is new —Whole — like His Principle —
- The Clock strikes one that just struck two —Some schism in the Sum —
- The Clouds their Backs together laidThe North begun to push
- The Crickets sangAnd set the Sun
- The Daisy follows soft the Sun —And when his golden walk is done,
- The Day came slow — till Five o'clock —Then sprang before the Hills
- The Devil — had he fidelityWould be the best friend —
- The difference between DespairAnd Fear — is like the One
- The distance that the dead have goneDoes not at first appear —
- The Doomed — regard the SunriseWith different Delight —
- The Dust behind I strove to joinUnto the Disk before —
- The duties of the Wind are few,To cast the ships, at Sea,
- The Dying need but little, Dear,A Glass of Water's all,
- The ecstasy to guessWere a receipted bliss
- The Face in evanescence lainIs more distinct than ours —
- The Face we choose to miss —Be it but for a Day
- The farthest Thunder that I heardWas nearer than the Sky
- The feet of people walking homeWith gayer sandals go -
- The First LessonNot in this world to see his face
- The Funeral (Dickinson)That short, potential stir
- The Future — never spoke —Nor will He — like the Dumb —
- The Gentian weaves her fringes —The Maple's loom is red —
- The gleam of an heroic ActSuch strange illumination
- The GrassAnd even when it dies, to pass
- The Grass so little has to do —A Sphere of simple Green —
- The grave my little cottage is,Where "Keeping house" for thee
- The healed Heart shows its shallow scarWith confidential moan —
- The Heart asks Pleasure — first —And then, excuse from pain ;
- The Heart is the Capital of the Mind —The Mind is a single State —
- The HemlockTo satin races he is nought;
- The Hills erect their Purple HeadsThe Rivers lean to see
- The incidents of loveAre more than its Events —
- The inundation of the SpringEnlarges every soul —
- The Juggler's Hat her Country is —The Mountain Gorse — the Bee's!
- The largest Fire ever knownOccurs each Afternoon —
- The last Night that She livedShe mentioned, and forgot;
- The last of Summer is Delight —Deterred by Retrospect.
- The Leaves like Women interchangeExclusive Confidence —
- The Lonely HouseA pair of spectacles afar just stir —
- The lonesome for they know not What —The Eastern Exiles — be —
- The long sigh of the FrogUpon a Summer's Day
- The longest day that God appointsThe little notes shall go as fast as steam can take them.
- The look of thee, what is it likeHast thou a hand or Foot
- The Love a Life can show BelowIs but a filament, I know,
- The Luxury to apprehendThe Luxury 'twould be
- The Missing All — prevented MeFrom missing minor Things.
- The Moon is distant from the Sea —And yet, with Amber Hands —
- The Moon upon her fluent RouteDefiant of a Road —
- The Moon was but a Chin of GoldA Night or two ago —
- The morns are meeker than they were —The nuts are getting brown —
- The most triumphant Bird I ever knew or metEmbarked upon a twig today
- The Mountain (Dickinson)The mountain sat upon the plain
- The Mountain sat upon the PlainIn his tremendous Chair —
- The Mountains — grow unnoticed —Their Purple figures rise
- The Murmur of a BeeA Witchcraft — yieldeth me —
- The murmuring of Bees, has ceasedBut murmuring of some
- The Mushroom is the Elf of Plants —At Evening, it is not —
- The nearest Dream recedes — unrealized —The Heaven we chase,
- The Night was wide, and furnished scantWith but a single Star —
- The One who could repeat the Summer day —Were greater than itself — though He
- The ones that disappeared are backThe Phoebe and the Crow
- The only Ghost I ever sawWas dressed in Mechlin — so —
- The Only News I knowIs Bulletins all Day
- The Outlet (Dickinson)My river runs to thee :
- The overtakelessness of thoseWho have accomplished Death
- The Past is such a curious CreatureTo look her in the Face
- The pedigree of HoneyDoes not concern the bee ;
- The Popular Heart is a Cannon first —Subsequent a Drum —
- The power to be true to You,Until upon my face
- The Props assist the HouseUntil the House is built
- The rainbow never tells meThat gust and storm are by,
- The Rat is the concisest Tenant.He pays no Rent.
- The reticent volcano keepsHis never slumbering plan —
- The right to perish might be thoughtAn undisputed right —
- The Robin is a GabrielIn humble circumstances —
- The Robin is the OneThat interrupt the Morn
- The Robin's my Criterion for Tune —Because I grow — where Robins do —
- The Rose did caper on her cheek —Her Bodice rose and fell —
- The Savior must have beenA docile Gentleman —
- The Sea of SunsetThis is the land the sunset washes,
- The Sea said "Come" to the Brook —The Brook said "Let me grow" —
- The Secret (Dickinson)Some things that fly there be, —
- The Show is not the ShowBut they that go —
- The Skies can't keep their secret!They tell it to the Hills —
- The Sky is low — the Clouds are mean.A Travelling Flake of Snow
- The Soul selects her own Society —Then — shuts the Door —
- The Soul should always stand ajarThat if the Heaven inquire
- The Soul that hath a GuestDoth seldom go abroad —
- The Soul unto itselfIs an imperial friend —
- The Soul's distinct connectionWith immortality
- The Soul's Superior instantsOccur to Her — alone —
- The Spider as an ArtistHas never been employed —
- The Spirit lasts — but in what mode —Below, the Body speaks,
- The Stars are old, that stood for me —The West a little worn —
- The Stimulus, beyond the GraveHis Countenance to see
- The Suburbs of a SecretA Strategist should keep,
- The Sun kept setting — setting — stillNo Hue of Afternoon —
- The Sun went down — no Man looked on —The Earth and I, alone,
- The Sun — just touched the Morning —The Morning — Happy thing —
- The Sunrise runs for Both —The East — Her Purple Troth
- The sweetest Heresy receivedThat Man and Woman know —
- The Sweets of Pillage, can be knownTo no one but the Thief —
- The thought beneath so slight a film —Is more distinctly seen —
- The Tint I cannot take — is best —The Color too remote
- The Treason of an accentMight Ecstasy transfer —
- The Way I read a Letter's — this —'Tis first — I lock the Door —
- The Wife (Dickinson)She rose to his requirement, dropped
- The wind drew offLike hungry dogs
- The Wind — tapped like a tired Man —And like a Host — "Come in"
- The Winters are so short —I'm hardly justified
- The World — feels DustyWhen We stop to Die —
- Their Height in Heaven comforts not —Their Glory — nought to me —
- There are two Ripenings — one — of sight —Whose forces Spheric wind
- There came a Day at Summer's full,Entirely for me —
- There came a Wind like a Bugle —It quivered through the Grass
- There is a flower that Bees prefer —And Butterflies — desire —
- There is a Languor of the LifeMore imminent than Pain —
- There is a pain — so utter —It swallows substance up —
- There is a Shame of Nobleness —Confronting Sudden Pelf —
- There is a solitude of spaceA solitude of sea
- There is a wordWhich bears a sword
- There is another LonelinessThat many die without —
- There is another skyever serene and fair,
- There is no Frigate like a BookTo take us Lands away
- There's been a Death, in the Opposite House,As lately as Today —
- There's something quieter than sleepWithin this inner room!
- These are the days that Reindeer loveAnd pranks the Northern star —
- These are the days when Birds come back —A very few — a Bird or two —
- These are the Signs to Nature's Inns —Her invitation broad
- They dropped like Flakes —They dropped like Stars —
- They say that "Time assuages" —Time never did assuage —
- They won't frown always — some sweet DayWhen I forget to tease —
- This Consciousness that is awareOf Neighbors and the Sun
- This is my letter to the WorldThat never wrote to Me —
- This is the place they hoped before,Where I am hoping now.
- This Merit hath the worst —It cannot be again —
- This quiet Dust was Gentleman and LadiesAnd Lads and Girls —
- This was a Poet — It is ThatDistills amazing sense
- This was in the White of the Year —That — was in the Green —
- This World is not Conclusion.A Species stands beyond —
- This — is the land — the Sunset washes —These — are the Banks of the Yellow Sea —
- Tho' I get home how late — how late —So I get home - 'twill compensate —
- Those fair — fictitious People —The Women — plucked away
- Those final Creatures, — who they are —That faithful to the close
- Three times — we parted — Breath — and I —Three times — He would not go —
- Three Weeks passed since I had seen Her —Some Disease had vext
- Through lane it lay — through bramble —Through clearing and through wood —
- Through the Dark Sod — as Education —The Lily passes sure —
- Through the strait pass of suffering —The Martyrs — even — trod.
- Tie the Strings to my Life, My Lord,Then, I am ready to go!
- Till Death — is narrow Loving —The scantest Heart extant
- Time and EternityToo late
- Title divine — is mine!The Wife — without the Sign!
- To be alive — is Power —Existence — in itself —
- To disappear enhances —The Man that runs away
- To fight aloud, is very brave —But gallanter, I know,
- To fill a GapInsert the Thing that caused it —
- To hang our head — ostensibly —And subsequent, to find
- To hear an Oriole singMay be a common thing —
- To help our Bleaker PartsSalubrious Hours are given
- To interrupt His Yellow PlanThe Sun does not allow
- To know just how He suffered — would be dear —And wishes, had he any?
- To learn the Transport by the PainAs Blind Men learn the sun!
- To lose one's faith — surpassThe loss of an Estate —
- To Lose TheeTo lose thee, sweeter than to gain
- To lose thee — sweeter than to gainAll other hearts I knew.
- To love thee Year by Year —May less appear
- To make a prairie it takes a clover and one bee,One clover, and a bee,
- To make Routine a StimulusRemember it can cease —
- To my quick ear the Leaves — conferred —The Bushes — they were Bells —
- To offer brave assistanceTo Lives that stand alone —
- To pile like Thunder to its closeThen crumble grand away
- To see her is a Picture —To hear her is a Tune —
- To tell the Beauty would decreaseTo state the Spell demean —
- To the stanch DustWe safe commit thee —
- To their apartment deepNo ribaldry may creep
- To this World she returned.But with a tinge of that —
- To try to speak, and miss the wayAnd ask it of the Tears,
- To venerate the simple daysWhich lead the seasons by,
- Today or this noonShe dwelt so close
- Too cold is thisTo warm with Sun —
- Too few the mornings be,Too scant the nights.
- Too Late (Dickinson)Oh, if there may departing be
- TransplantedAs if some little Arctic flower,
- Triumph — may be of several kinds —There's Triumph in the Room
- Troubled about many thingsHow many times these low feet staggered,
- Trusty as the starsWho quit their shining working
- Truth — is as old as God —His Twin identity
- Two butterflies went out at Noon —And waltzed upon a Farm —
- Two Lengths has every Day —Its absolute extent
- Two swimmers wrestled on the spar —Until the morning sun,
- Two Worlds (Dickinson)It makes no difference abroad,
U 5
V 2
W 63
- Wait till the Majesty of DeathInvests so mean a brow!
- Water, is taught by thirst.Land — by the Oceans passed.
- We Cover Thee — Sweet Face —Not that We tire of Thee —
- We knew not that we were to live —Nor when — we are to die —
- We learn it in RetreatingHow vast an one
- We like March.His Shoes are Purple —
- We miss a Kinsman moreWhen warranted to see
- We never know how high we areTill we are asked to rise
- We never know we go when we are going —We jest and shut the Door —
- We outgrow love, like other thingsAnd put it in the Drawer —
- We play at Paste —Till qualified, for Pearl —
- We pray — to Heaven —We prate — of Heaven —
- We see — Comparatively —The Thing so towering high
- We send the Wave to find the Wave —An Errand so divine,
- We shall find the Cube of the Rainbow.Of that, there is no doubt.
- We should not mind so small a flower —Except it quiet bring
- We shun it ere it comes,Afraid of Joy,
- We talked as Girls do —Fond, and late —
- We thirst at first — 'tis Nature's Act —And later — when we die —
- We — Bee and I — live by the quaffing —'Tisn't all Hock — with us —
- Went up a year this evening!I recollect it well!
- What I can do — I will —Though it be little as a Daffodil —
- What if I say I shall not wait!What if I burst the fleshly Gate —
- What Inn is thisWhere for the night
- What mystery pervades a well!That water lives so far —
- What Soft — Cherubic Creatures —These Gentlewomen are —
- What tenements of cloverAre fitting for the bee,
- What would I give to see his face?I'd give — I'd give my life — of course —
- When Etna basks and purrsNaples is more afraid
- When I hoped I feared —Since I hoped I dared
- When I hoped, I recollectJust the place I stood —
- When I was small, a Woman died —Today — her Only Boy
- When Night is almost done —And Sunrise grows so near
- When Roses cease to bloom, Sir,And Violets are done —
- When they come back — if Blossoms do —I always feel a doubt
- When we have ceased to careThe Gift is given
- Where every bird is bold to goAnd bees abashless play,
- Where Ships of Purple — gently toss —On Seas of Daffodil —
- Where Thou art — that — is Home —Cashmere — or Calvary — the same —
- Whether my bark went down at sea —Whether she met with gales,
- While Asters —On the Hill —
- While we were fearing it, it came —But came with less of fear
- Who abdicated AmbushAnd went the way of Dusk,
- Who Court obtain within HimselfSees every Man a King —
- Who Giants know, with lesser MenAre incomplete, and shy —
- Who has not found the Heaven — below —Will fail of it above —
- Who is it seeks my Pillow Nights —With plain inspecting face —
- Who never lost, are unpreparedA Coronet to find!
- Who never wanted — maddest JoyRemains to him unknown —
- Who were "the Father and the Son"We pondered when a child,
- Whose are the little beds, I askedWhich in the valleys lie?
- Whose Pink career may have a closePortentous as our own, who knows?
- "Why do I love" You, Sir?Because —
- Why make it doubt — it hurts it so —So sick — to guess —
- Why — do they shut Me out of Heaven?Did I sing — too loud?
- Why? (Dickinson)The murmur of a bee
- Wild Nights — Wild Nights!Were I with thee
- Will there really be a "Morning"?Is there such a thing as "Day"?
- Witchcraft has not a Pedigree'Tis early as our Breath
- With a FlowerI hide myself within my flower,
- Within my Garden, rides a BirdUpon a single Wheel —
- Within my reach!I could have touched !
- Would you like summer? Taste of ours.Spices? Buy here!
Y 8
- You cannot put a Fire out —A Thing that can ignite
- You left me — Sire — two Legacies —A Legacy of Love
- You Left Me, Sweet, Two LegaciesA legacy of love
- You see I cannot see — your lifetime —I must guess —
- You taught me Waiting with Myself —Appointment strictly kept —
- You'll find — it when you try to die —The Easier to let go —
- You've seen Balloons set — Haven't You?So stately they ascend —
- Your Riches — taught me — PovertyMyself — a Millionaire
