There's something quieter than sleep

Emily Dickinson 1830 (Amherst) – 1886 (Amherst)



There's something quieter than sleep
Within this inner room!
It wears a sprig upon its breast—
And will not tell its name.

Some touch it, and some kiss it—
Some chafe its idle hand—
It has a simple gravity
I do not understand!

I would not weep if I were they—
How rude in one to sob!
Might scare the quiet fairy
Back to her native wood!

While simple-hearted neighbors
Chat of the "Early dead"—
We—prone to periphrasis
Remark that Birds have fled!

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Submitted on May 13, 2011

Modified on April 28, 2023

26 sec read
749

Quick analysis:

Scheme XXXX XABA XXBX CDCD
Closest metre Iambic trimeter
Characters 451
Words 85
Stanzas 4
Stanza Lengths 4, 4, 4, 4

Emily Dickinson

Emily Elizabeth Dickinson was an American poet. more…

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