A precious—mouldering pleasure

Emily Dickinson 1830 (Amherst) – 1886 (Amherst)



A precious—mouldering pleasure—'tis—
To meet an Antique Book—
In just the Dress his Century wore—
A privilege—I think—

His venerable Hand to take—
And warming in our own—
A passage back—or two—to make—
To Times when he—was young—

His quaint opinions—to inspect—
His thought to ascertain
On Themes concern our mutual mind—
The Literature of Man—

What interested Scholars—most—
What Competitions ran—
When Plato—was a Certainty—
And Sophocles—a Man—

When Sappho—was a living Girl—
And Beatrice wore
The Gown that Dante—deified—
Facts Centuries before

He traverses—familiar—
As One should come to Town—
And tell you all your Dreams—were true—
He lived—where Dreams were born—

His presence is Enchantment—
You beg him not to go—
Old Volume shake their Vellum Heads
And tantalize—just so—

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Submitted on May 13, 2011

Modified on March 05, 2023

37 sec read
108

Quick analysis:

Scheme XXAX BXBX XXXC XCXC XAXA XXXX XDXD
Closest metre Iambic tetrameter
Characters 844
Words 125
Stanzas 7
Stanza Lengths 4, 4, 4, 4, 4, 4, 4

Emily Dickinson

Emily Elizabeth Dickinson was an American poet. more…

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