Three times—we parted—Breath—and I

Emily Dickinson 1830 (Amherst) – 1886 (Amherst)



Three times—we parted—Breath—and I—
Three times—He would not go—
But strove to stir the lifeless Fan
The Waters—strove to stay.

Three Times—the Billows tossed me up—
Then caught me—like a Ball—
Then made Blue faces in my face—
And pushed away a sail

That crawled Leagues off—I liked to see—
For thinking—while I die—
How pleasant to behold a Thing
Where Human faces—be—

The Waves grew sleepy—Breath—did not—
The Winds—like Children—lulled—
Then Sunrise kissed my Chrysalis—
And I stood up—and lived—

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Submitted on May 13, 2011

Modified on March 05, 2023

24 sec read
147

Quick analysis:

Scheme AXXX XXXX BAXB XXXX
Closest metre Iambic tetrameter
Characters 546
Words 83
Stanzas 4
Stanza Lengths 4, 4, 4, 4

Emily Dickinson

Emily Elizabeth Dickinson was an American poet. more…

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