Monday, March 16, 2009

i have had the first stanza of this poem memorised since i was 13

Because I could not stop for Death,
He kindly stopped for me;
The carriage held but just ourselves
And Immortality.

We slowly drove, he knew no haste,
And I had put away
My labor, and my leisure too,
For his civility.

We passed the school, where children strove
At recess, in the ring;
We passed the fields of gazing grain,
We passed the setting sun.

Or rather, he passed us;
The dews grew quivering and chill,
For only gossamer my gown,
My tippet only tulle.

We paused before a house that seemed
A swelling of the ground;
The roof was scarcely visible,
The cornice but a mound.

Since then 'tis centuries, and yet each
Feels shorter than the day
I first surmised the horses' heads
Were toward eternity.


Emily Dickinson.

2 comments:

R. said...

OMG!!1 I've had the first line memorised since I was 17, when I first discovered the poem. That's freaky :p

Gosh, Emily Dickinson is lovely!

--xo.

Anonymous said...

aww pretty! now im going to go and memorise it :D