If you were coming in the fall,

Emily Dickinson 1830 (Amherst) – 1886 (Amherst)



If you were coming in the fall,
I'd brush the summer by
With half a smile and half a spum,
As housewives do a fly.

If I could see you in a year,
I'd wind the months in balls,
And put them each in separate drawers,
Until their time befalls.

If only centuries delayed,
I'd count them on my hand,
Subtracting till my fingers dropped
Into Van Diemen's land.

If certain, when this life was out,
That yours and mine should be,
I'd toss it yonder like a rind,
And taste eternity.

But now, all ignorant of the length
Of time's uncertain wing,
It goads me, like the goblin bee,
That will not state its sting.

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Submitted on May 13, 2011

Modified on May 01, 2023

37 sec read
232

Quick analysis:

Scheme XAXA XBXB XCXC XDXD XEDE
Closest metre Iambic tetrameter
Characters 588
Words 118
Stanzas 5
Stanza Lengths 4, 4, 4, 4, 4

Emily Dickinson

Emily Elizabeth Dickinson was an American poet. more…

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