Grief is a Mouse
Emily Dickinson 1830 (Amherst) – 1886 (Amherst)
Grief is a Mouse—
And chooses Wainscot in the Breast
For His Shy House—
And baffles quest—
Grief is a Thief—quick startled—
Pricks His Ear—report to hear
Of that Vast Dark—
That swept His Being—back—
Grief is a Juggler—boldest at the Play—
Lest if He flinch—the eye that way
Pounce on His Bruises—One—say—or Three—
Grief is a Gourmand—spare His luxury—
Best Grief is Tongueless—before He'll tell—
Burn Him in the Public Square—
His Ashes—will
Possibly—if they refuse—How then know—
Since a Rack couldn't coax a syllable—now.
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Submitted on May 13, 2011
Modified on April 30, 2023
- 27 sec read
- 403 Views
Quick analysis:
Scheme | ABAB XXXX CCDD XXXXX |
---|---|
Closest metre | Iambic tetrameter |
Characters | 568 |
Words | 88 |
Stanzas | 4 |
Stanza Lengths | 4, 4, 4, 5 |
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"Grief is a Mouse" Poetry.com. STANDS4 LLC, 2024. Web. 11 May 2024. <https://www.poetry.com/poem/11667/grief-is-a-mouse>.
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