THE last night that she lived,
It was a common night,
Except the dying; this to us
Made nature different.

We noticed smallest things —
Things overlooked before,
By this great light upon our minds
Italicized, as ’t were. More→

NOT in this world to see his face
Sounds long, until I read the place
Where this is said to be;
But just the primer to a life
Unopened, rare, upon the shelf,
Clasped yet to him and me. More→

THE bustle in a house
The morning after death
Is solemnest of industries
Enacted upon earth —
The sweeping up the heart... More→

IREASON, earth is short,
And anguish absolute,
And many hurt;
But what of that? More→

AFRAID? Of whom am I afraid?
Not death; for who is he?
The porter of my father’s lodge
As much abasheth me. More→

THE sun kept setting, setting still;
No hue of afternoon
Upon the village I perceived —
From house to house, ’t was noon.

The dusk kept dropping, dropping still;
No dew upon the grass,
But only on my forehead stopped,
And wandered in my face. More→

TWO swimmers wrestled on the spar
Until the morning sun,
When one turned smiling to the land.
O God, the other one! More→

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. More→

SHE went as quiet as the dew
From a familiar flower.
Not like the dew did she return
At the accustomed hour! More→

AT last to be identified!
At last, the lamps upon thy side,
The rest of life to see! More→

EXCEPT to heaven, she is nought;
Except for angels, lone;
Except to some wide-wandering bee,
A flower superfluous blown... More→

DEATH is a dialogue between
The spirit and the dust.
“Dissolve,” says Death. The Spirit, “Sir,
I have another trust.” More→

IT was too late for man,
But early yet for God;
Creation impotent to help,
But prayer remained our side. More→

WHEN I was small, a woman died.
To-day her only boy
Went up from the Potomac,
His face all victory.

To look at her; how slowly
The seasons must have turned
Till bullets clipt an angle,
And he passed quickly round! More→

THE daisy follows soft the sun,
And when his golden walk is done,
Sits shyly at his feet.
He, waking, finds the flower near.
“Wherefore, marauder, art thou here?”
“Because, sir, love is sweet!” More→

NO rack can torture me,
My soul’s at liberty.
Behind this mortal bone
There knits a bolder one:
You cannot prick with saw,
Nor rend with scymitar.
Two bodies therefore be;
Bind one, and one will flee. More→

I LOST a world the other day.
Has anybody found?
You’ll know it by the row of stars
Around its forehead bound. More→

IF I shouldn’t be alive
When the robins come,
Give the one in red cravat
A memorial crumb. More→

SLEEP is supposed to be,
By souls of sanity,
The shutting of the eye.

Sleep is the station grand
Down which on either hand
The hosts of witness stand! More→

I SHALL know why, when time is over,
And I have ceased to wonder why;
Christ will explain each separate anguish
In the fair schoolroom of the sky. More→

I NEVER lost as much but twice,
And that was in the sod;
Twice have I stood a beggar
Before the door of God! More→