Life poems
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Have you got a Brook in your little heart,
© Emily Dickinson
Have you got a Brook in your little heart,
Where bashful flowers blow,
And blushing birds go down to drink,
And shadows tremble so --
As Summer into Autumn slips
© Emily Dickinson
As Summer into Autumn slips
And yet we sooner say
"The Summer" than "the Autumn," lest
We turn the sun away,
Afraid! Of whom am I afraid?
© Emily Dickinson
Afraid! Of whom am I afraid?
Not Death -- for who is He?
The Porter of my Father's Lodge
As much abasheth me!
A great Hope fell
© Emily Dickinson
A great Hope fell
You heard no noise
The Ruin was within
Oh cunning wreck that told no tale
And let no Witness in
'Tis so much joy! 'Tis so much joy!
© Emily Dickinson
'Tis so much joy! 'Tis so much joy!
If I should fail, what poverty!
And yet, as poor as I,
Have ventured all upon a throw!
Have gained! Yes! Hesitated so --
This side the Victory!
"Faithful to the end" Amended
© Emily Dickinson
"Faithful to the end" Amended
From the Heavenly Clause --
Constancy with a Proviso
Constancy abhors --
Tie the Strings to my Life, My Lord,
© Emily Dickinson
Tie the Strings to my Life, My Lord,
Then, I am ready to go!
Just a look at the Horses --
Rapid! That will do!
The farthest Thunder that I heard
© Emily Dickinson
The farthest Thunder that I heard
Was nearer than the Sky
And rumbles still, though torrid Noons
Have lain their missiles by --
That it will never come again
© Emily Dickinson
That it will never come again
Is what makes life so sweet.
Believing what we don't believe
Does not exhilarate.
Surgeons must be very careful
© Emily Dickinson
Surgeons must be very careful
When they take the knife!
Underneath their fine incisions
Stirs the Culprit -- Life!
So give me back to Death --
© Emily Dickinson
So give me back to Death --
The Death I never feared
Except that it deprived of thee --
And now, by Life deprived,
Severer Service of myself
© Emily Dickinson
Severer Service of myself
I -- hastened to demand
To fill the awful Vacuum
Your life had left behind --
Love -- is anterior to Life --
© Emily Dickinson
Love -- is anterior to Life --
Posterior -- to Death --
Initial of Creation, and
The Exponent of Earth --
I felt my life with both my hands
© Emily Dickinson
I felt my life with both my hands
To see if it was there --
I held my spirit to the Glass,
To prove it possibler --
He put the Belt around my life
© Emily Dickinson
He put the Belt around my life
I heard the Buckle snap --
And turned away, imperial,
My Lifetime folding up --
Forever at His side to walk
© Emily Dickinson
Forever at His side to walk --
The smaller of the two!
Brain of His Brain --
Blood of His Blood --
Two lives -- One Being -- now --
Did life's penurious length
© Emily Dickinson
Did life's penurious length
Italicize its sweetness,
The men that daily live
Would stand so deep in joy
Between the form of Life and Life
© Emily Dickinson
Between the form of Life and Life
The difference is as big
As Liquor at the Lip between
And Liquor in the Jug
We grow accustomed to the Dark
© Emily Dickinson
We grow accustomed to the Dark --
When light is put away --
As when the Neighbor holds the Lamp
To witness her Goodbye --
In this short Life
© Emily Dickinson
In this short Life
That only lasts an hour
How much -- how little -- is
Within our power
