As imperceptibly as grief
As imperceptibly as grief
Original Text
Poems (1890-1896) by Emily Dickinson: A Facsimile Reproduction of the Original Volumes Issued in 1890, 1891, and 1896, with an Introduction by George Monteiro (Gainesville, Florida: Scholars' Facsimiles & Re
2The summer lapsed away,--
3Too imperceptible, at last,
4To seem like perfidy.
5A quietness distilled,
6As twilight long begun,
7Or Nature, spending with herself
8Sequestered afternoon.
9The dusk drew earlier in,
10The morning foreign shone,--
11A courteous, yet harrowing grace,
13And thus, without a wing,
15Our summer made her light escape
16Into the beautiful.
Notes
1] The poem is differently divided in the existing manuscript version, The Manuscript Books of Emily Dickinson, edited by R. W. Franklin in two volumes (Cambridge, Mass., and London: Belknap Press of Harvard University Press, 1981: II, 1069; set 5; PS 1541 A1 1981 ROBA). Back to Line
12] who: the existing manuscript version of poem 1540 reads "that". Back to Line
14] keel: flat-bottomed boat Back to Line
Publication Start Year
1891
RPO poem Editors
Ian Lancashire
RPO Edition
RPO 1997.
Rhyme