What if I say I shall not wait!

Emily Dickinson 1830 (Amherst) – 1886 (Amherst)



What if I say I shall not wait!
What if I burst the fleshly Gate—
And pass escaped—to thee!

What if I file this Mortal—off—
See where it hurt me—That's enough—
And wade in Liberty!

They cannot take me—any more!
Dungeons can call—and Guns implore
Unmeaning—now—to me—

As laughter—was—an hour ago—
Or Laces—or a Travelling Show—
Or who died—yesterday!

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Submitted on May 13, 2011

Modified on May 01, 2023

18 sec read
377

Quick analysis:

Scheme AAB XXB CCB DDX
Closest metre Iambic tetrameter
Characters 380
Words 61
Stanzas 4
Stanza Lengths 3, 3, 3, 3

Emily Dickinson

Emily Elizabeth Dickinson was an American poet. more…

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    "What if I say I shall not wait!" Poetry.com. STANDS4 LLC, 2024. Web. 28 Mar. 2024. <https://www.poetry.com/poem/12425/what-if-i-say-i-shall-not-wait!>.

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