It don't sound so terrible—quite—as it did

Emily Dickinson 1830 (Amherst) – 1886 (Amherst)



It don't sound so terrible—quite—as it did—
I run it over—"Dead", Brain, "Dead."
Put it in Latin—left of my school—
Seems it don't shriek so—under rule.

Turn it, a little—full in the face
A Trouble looks bitterest—
Shift it—just—
Say "When Tomorrow comes this way—
I shall have waded down one Day."

I suppose it will interrupt me some
Till I get accustomed—but then the Tomb
Like other new Things—shows largest—then—
And smaller, by Habit—

It's shrewder then
Put the Thought in advance—a Year—
How like "a fit"—then—
Murder—wear!

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Submitted on May 13, 2011

Modified on March 05, 2023

28 sec read
155

Quick analysis:

Scheme XXAA XBBCC XXDX DXDX
Closest metre Iambic tetrameter
Characters 565
Words 93
Stanzas 4
Stanza Lengths 4, 5, 4, 4

Emily Dickinson

Emily Elizabeth Dickinson was an American poet. more…

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