Dictionary Poems

THE butterfly obtainsBut little sympathy,Though favorably mentionedIn Entomology.Because he travels freelyAnd wears a proper coat,The circumspect are certainThat he is dissolute.Had he the homely scutcheon of modest Industry,‘Twere fitter certifying for Immortality. – THE butterfly obtains by Emily Dickinson

WHEN you are old and grey and full of sleep,And nodding by the fire, take down this book,And slowly read, and dream of the soft lookYour eyes had once, and of their shadows deep;How many loved your moments of glad grace,And loved your beauty with love false or true,But one man loved the pilgrim Soul … Continued

THE difference between despairAnd fear, is like the oneBetween the instant of a wreck,And when the wreck has been. The mind is smooth,–no motion–Contented as the eyeUpon the forehead of a Bust,That knows it cannot see. – THE difference between despair by Emily Dickinson

The soul unto itselfIs an imperial friend, —Or the most agonizing spyAn enemy could send. Secure against its own,No treason it can fear;Itself its sovereign, of itselfThe soul should stand in awe. – The soul unto itself by Emily Dickinson

I do not love you as if you were salt-rose, or topaz,or the arrow of carnations the fire shoots off.I love you as certain dark things are to be loved,in secret, between the shadow and the soul. I love you as the plant that never bloomsbut carries in itself the light of hidden flowers;thanks to … Continued

I’ve known rivers:I’ve known rivers ancient as the world and older than theflow of human blood in human veins. My soul has grown deep like the rivers. I bathed in the Euphrates when dawns were young.I built my hut near the Congo and it lulled me to sleep.I looked upon the Nile and raised the … Continued

One blessing had I, than the rest So larger to my eyesThat I stopped gauging, satisfied, For this enchanted size. It was the limit of my dream, The focus of my prayer, —A perfect, paralyzing bliss Contented as despair. I knew no more of want or cold, Phantasms both become,For this new value in the … Continued

Read, sweet, how others strove,Till we are stouter;What they renounced,Till we are less afraid;How many times they boreThe faithful witness,Till we are helped,As if a kingdom cared! Read then of faithThat shone above the fagot;Clear strains of hymnThe river could not drown;Brave names of menAnd celestial women,Passed out of recordInto renown! – THE BOOK OF … Continued

SHE sits in the dust at the walls And makes cigars,Bending at the benchWith fingers wage-anxious,Changing her sweat for the day’s pay. Now the noon hour has come,And she leans with her bare armsOn the window-sill over the river,Leans and feels at her throatCool-moving things out of the free open ways: At her throat and … Continued

I have no name; I am but two days old. What shall I call thee? I happy am, Joy is my name. Sweet joy befall thee! Pretty joy! Sweet joy, but two days old. Sweet Joy I call thee: Thou dost smile, I sing the while; Sweet joy befall thee! – INFANT JOY by William … Continued