I should not dare to leave my friend

Emily Dickinson 1830 (Amherst) – 1886 (Amherst)



I should not dare to leave my friend,
Because—because if he should die
While I was gone—and I—too late—
Should reach the Heart that wanted me—

If I should disappoint the eyes
That hunted—hunted so—to see—
And could not bear to shut until
They "noticed" me—they noticed me—

If I should stab the patient faith
So sure I'd come—so sure I'd come—
It listening—listening—went to sleep—
Telling my tardy name—

My Heart would wish it broke before—
Since breaking then—since breaking then—
Were useless as next morning's sun—
Where midnight frosts—had lain!

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Submitted on May 13, 2011

Modified on April 14, 2023

29 sec read
363

Quick analysis:

Scheme XXXA XAXA XXXX XXXX
Closest metre Iambic tetrameter
Characters 584
Words 94
Stanzas 4
Stanza Lengths 4, 4, 4, 4

Emily Dickinson

Emily Elizabeth Dickinson was an American poet. more…

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