Emily Dickinson (1830–1886)
It Was a Quiet Way
It was a quiet way --
He asked if I was his --
I made no answer of the Tongue
But answer of the Eyes --
And then He bore me on
Before this mortal noise
With swiftness, as of Chariots
And distance, as of Wheels.
This World did drop away
As Acres from the feet
Of one that leaneth from Balloon
Upon an Ether street.
The Gulf behind was not,
The Continents were new --
Eternity it was before
Eternity was due.
No Seasons were to us --
It was not Night nor Morn --
But Sunrise stopped upon the place
And fastened it in Dawn.
Emily Dickinson (1830–1886) is one of the foremost American poets of the 19th century. She spent her life in Amherst, Massachussetts where she was the daughter of a prominent family. Very few of her poems were published in her lifetime, and the eccentricities of her punctuation, diction, capitalization, and style continue to mystify and intrigue readers.
Selected by Amy Frykholm: amy@journeywithjesus.net
