By The Sea

Emily Dickinson 1830 (Amherst) – 1886 (Amherst)



I started early, took my dog,
And visited the sea;
The mermaids in the basement
Came out to look at me.

And frigates in the upper floor
Extended hempen hands,
Presuming me to be a mouse
Aground, upon the sands.

But no man moved me till the tide
Went past my simple shoe,
And past my apron and my belt,
And past my bodice too,

And made as he would eat me up
As wholly as a dew
Upon a dandelion's sleeve -
And then I started too.

And he - he followed close behind;
I felt his silver heel
Upon my ankle, - then my shoes
Would overflow with pearl.

Until we met the solid town,
No man he seemed to know;
And bowing with a mighty look
At me, the sea withdrew.

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Submitted on May 13, 2011

Modified on May 03, 2023

41 sec read
574

Quick analysis:

Scheme XAXA XBXB XCXC XCXC XXXX XXXC
Closest metre Iambic trimeter
Characters 643
Words 136
Stanzas 6
Stanza Lengths 4, 4, 4, 4, 4, 4

Emily Dickinson

Emily Elizabeth Dickinson was an American poet. more…

All Emily Dickinson poems | Emily Dickinson Books

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