I would not paint—a picture

Emily Dickinson 1830 (Amherst) – 1886 (Amherst)



I would not paint—a picture—
I'd rather be the One
Its bright impossibility
To dwell—delicious—on—
And wonder how the fingers feel
Whose rare—celestial—stir—
Evokes so sweet a Torment—
Such sumptuous—Despair—

I would not talk, like Cornets—
I'd rather be the One
Raised softly to the Ceilings—
And out, and easy on—
Through Villages of Ether—
Myself endued Balloon
By but a lip of Metal—
The pier to my Pontoon—

Nor would I be a Poet—
It's finer—own the Ear—
Enamored—impotent—content—
The License to revere,
A privilege so awful
What would the Dower be,
Had I the Art to stun myself
With Bolts of Melody!

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Submitted on May 13, 2011

Modified on March 05, 2023

32 sec read
142

Quick analysis:

Scheme aBcdxaex fBfdaghg xxexhcxc
Closest metre Iambic trimeter
Characters 636
Words 106
Stanzas 3
Stanza Lengths 8, 8, 8

Emily Dickinson

Emily Elizabeth Dickinson was an American poet. more…

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    "I would not paint—a picture" Poetry.com. STANDS4 LLC, 2024. Web. 29 Mar. 2024. <https://www.poetry.com/poem/11831/i-would-not-paint—a-picture>.

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