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Emily Dickinson

94 quotes

• “God is sitting here, looking into my very soul to see if I think right thoughts. Yet I am not afraid, for I try to be right and good; and He knows every one of my struggles.”

  Emily Dickinson (1830–1886) first seen 1850 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source

  Recorded in: Letter to Abiah Root (29 January 1850); Mabel Loomis Todd (ed.) Letters of Emily Dickinson, vol. 1 (Boston: Roberts Bros, 1894) p. 39 [http://www.emilydickinsonmuseum.org/abiah_root

• “Friday I tasted life. It was a vast morsel. A circus passed the house — still I feel the red in my mind though the drums are out. [...] The lawn is full of south and the odors tangle, and I hear to-day for the first the river in the tree.”

  Emily Dickinson (1830–1886) first seen 1857 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source

  Recorded in: Letter to Mrs. J. G. Holland (c. 1857); Letters, vol. 1 (1894) p. 171

• “My friends are my "estate." Forgive me then the avarice to hoard them.”

  Emily Dickinson (1830–1886) first seen 1858 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source

  Recorded in: Letter to Samuel Bowles (August 1858 or 1859); Thomas H. Johnson (ed.) The Letters of Emily Dickinson (1958) p. 338, no. 193

• “I had no portrait, now, but am small, like the Wren, and my Hair is bold, like the Chestnut Bur — and my eyes, like the Sherry in the Glass, that the Guest leaves — Would this do just as well?”

  Emily Dickinson (1830–1886) first seen 1862 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source

  Recorded in: Letter to T. W. Higginson (July 1862); Letters (1958) p. 411, no. 268

• “If I read a book [and] it makes my whole body so cold no fire can ever warm me, I know that is poetry. If I feel physically as if the top of my head were taken off, I know that is poetry. These are the only ways I know it. Is there any other way?”

  Emily Dickinson (1830–1886) first seen 1870 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source

  Recorded in: Letter to T. W. Higginson (1870); Letters (1958) p. 474, no. 342a

• “To live is so startling, it leaves but little room for other occupations.”

  Emily Dickinson (1830–1886) first seen 1872 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source

  Recorded in: Letter to T. W. Higginson (late 1872); Letters (1958) p. 380, no. 381

• “We turn not older with years, but newer every day.”

  Emily Dickinson (1830–1886) first seen 1872 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source

  Recorded in: Letter to Louise Norcross (late 1872); Letters (1958) p. 499, no. 379

• “No approximate words in a poem.”

  Emily Dickinson (1830–1886) said by 1886 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source

  Recorded in: Quoted by Julia Alvarez in an interview, "By the Book: Julia Alvarez", The New York Times (April 11, 2019) online. A version of this article appeared in print on April 14, 2019, p. 6 of the Sunday Book Review

• “A Grave – is a restricted Breadth – Yet ampler than the Sun – And all the Seas He populates And lands he looks uponTo Him who on its small Repose Bestows a single Friend – Circumference without Relief – Or Estimate – or End –”

  Emily Dickinson (1830–1886) said by 1886 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source

• “A death-blow is a life-blow to some Who, till they died, did not alive become; Who, had they lived, had died, but when They died, vitality begun.”

  Emily Dickinson (1830–1886) said by 1886 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source

• “A little Madness in the Spring Is wholesome even for the King.”

  Emily Dickinson (1830–1886) said by 1886 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source

• “A solemn thing - it was - I said - A Woman - white - to be - And wear - if God should count me fit - Her blameless mystery -”

  Emily Dickinson (1830–1886) said by 1886 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source

• “After great pain, a formal feeling comes - The Nerves sit ceremonious, like Tombs - The stiff Heart questions 'was it He, that bore,' And 'Yesterday, or Centuries before'?”

  Emily Dickinson (1830–1886) said by 1886 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source

• “This is the Hour of Lead - Remembered, if outlived, As Freezing persons, recollect the Snow - First - Chill - then Stupor - then the letting go -”

  Emily Dickinson (1830–1886) said by 1886 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source

• “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 –”

  Emily Dickinson (1830–1886) said by 1886 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source

• “We passed the School, where Children strove At Recess – in the Ring –”

  Emily Dickinson (1830–1886) said by 1886 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source

• “Since then – 'tis Centuries – and yet Feels shorter than the Day I first surmised the Horses' Heads Were toward Eternity –”

  Emily Dickinson (1830–1886) said by 1886 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source

• “Bless God, he went as soldiers, His musket on his breast; Grant, God, he charge the bravest Of all the martial blest.Please God, might I behold him In epauletted white, I should not fear the foe then, I should not fear the fight.”

  Emily Dickinson (1830–1886) said by 1886 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source

• “Could Hope inspect her Basis Her Craft were done – Has a fictitious Charter Or it has none –Balked in the vastest instance But to renew – Felled but by one assassin – Prosperity –”

  Emily Dickinson (1830–1886) said by 1886 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source

• “Dreams – are well – but Waking's better, If One wake at Morn – If One wake at Midnight – better – Dreaming – of the Dawn –”

  Emily Dickinson (1830–1886) said by 1886 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source

• “Drowning is not so pitiful As the attempt to rise. Three times, 'tis said, a sinking man Comes up to face the skies, And then declines forever To that abhorred abodeWhere hope and he part company,— For he is grasped of God. The Maker’s cordial visage, However good to see, Is shunned, we must admit it, Like an adversity.”

  Emily Dickinson (1830–1886) said by 1886 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source

• “What fortitude the Soul contains, That it can so endure The accent of a coming Foot - The opening of a Door -”

  Emily Dickinson (1830–1886) said by 1886 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source

• “Faith" is a fine invention When Gentlemen can see – But Microscopes are prudent In an Emergency.”

  Emily Dickinson (1830–1886) said by 1886 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source

• “Fame is a fickle food Upon a shifting plate, Whose table once a Guest, but not The second time, is set. Whose crumbs the crows inspect, And with ironic caw Flap past it to the Farmer’s corn; Men eat of it and die.”

  Emily Dickinson (1830–1886) said by 1886 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source

• “Fate slew him, but he did not drop; She felled—he did not fall— Impaled him on her fiercest stakes— He neutralized them all.She stung him, sapped his firm advance, But, when her worst was done, And he, unmoved, regarded her, Acknowledged him a man.”

  Emily Dickinson (1830–1886) said by 1886 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source

• “Glee! the great storm is over! Four have recovered the land; Forty gone down together Into the boiling sand.Ring, for the scant salvation! Toll, for the bonnie souls,— Neighbor and friend and bridegroom, Spinning upon the shoals!How they will tell the shipwreck When winter shakes the door, Till the children ask, "But the forty? Did they come back no more?"Then a silence suffuses the story, And a softness the teller's eye; And the children no further question, And only the waves reply.”

  Emily Dickinson (1830–1886) said by 1886 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source

• “Heart, we will forget him! You and I, to-night! You may forget the warmth he gave, I will forget the light.When you have done, pray tell me, That I my thoughts may dim; Haste! lest while you're lagging, I may remember him!”

  Emily Dickinson (1830–1886) said by 1886 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source

• “Hope" is the thing with feathers – That perches in the soul – And sings the tune without the words – And never stops – at all – And sweetest – in the Gale – is heard – And sore must be the storm – That could abash the little Bird That kept so many warm – I've heard it in the chillest land – And on the strangest Sea – Yet – never – in Extremity, It asked a crumb – of me.”

  Emily Dickinson (1830–1886) said by 1886 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source

• “How happy is the little stone That rambles in the road alone, And doesn't care about careers, And exigencies never fears; Whose coat of elemental brown A passing universe put on; And independent as the sun, Associates or glows alone, Fulfilling absolute decree In casual simplicity.”

  Emily Dickinson (1830–1886) said by 1886 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source

• “I died for Beauty – but was scarce Adjusted in the Tomb, When One who died for Truth, was lain In an adjoining Room – He questioned softly "Why I failed"? "For Beauty," I replied. "And I – for Truth, – Themself are One – We Brethren, are", He said –”

  Emily Dickinson (1830–1886) said by 1886 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source

• “I heard a Fly buzz – when I died – The Stillness in the Room Was like the Stillness in the Air – Between the Heaves of Storm –”

  Emily Dickinson (1830–1886) said by 1886 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source

• “There interposed a Fly –With Blue – uncertain – stumbling Buzz – Between the light – and me – And then the Windows failed – and then I could not see to see –”

  Emily Dickinson (1830–1886) said by 1886 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source

• “I never hear the word "escape" Without a quicker blood, A sudden expectation, A flying attitude.I never hear of prisons broad By soldiers battered down, But I tug childish at my bars,— Only to fail again!”

  Emily Dickinson (1830–1886) said by 1886 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source

• “I never saw a moor, I never saw the sea; Yet know I how the heather looks, And what a wave must be. I never spoke with God, Nor visited in heaven; Yet certain am I of the spot As if the chart were given.”

  Emily Dickinson (1830–1886) said by 1886 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source

• “I reason, earth is short, And anguish absolute. And many hurt; But what of that?I reason, we could die: The best vitality Cannot excel decay; But what of that?I reason that in heaven Somehow, it will be even, Some new equation given; But what of that?”

  Emily Dickinson (1830–1886) said by 1886 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source

• “I taste a liquor never brewed - From Tankards scooped in Pearl - Not all the Frankfort Berries Yield such an Alcohol!Inebriate of air - am I - And Debauchee of Dew - Reeling - thro' endless summer days - From inns of molten Blue -”

  Emily Dickinson (1830–1886) said by 1886 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source

• “I took my power in my hand And went against the world; 'Twas not so much as David had, But I was twice as bold.I aimed my pebble, but myself Was all the one that fell. Was it Goliath was too large, Or only I too small?”

  Emily Dickinson (1830–1886) said by 1886 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source

• “I took one Draught of Life – I'll tell you what I paid – Precisely an existence – The market price, they said.”

  Emily Dickinson (1830–1886) said by 1886 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source

• “I'm Nobody! Who are you? Are you – Nobody – Too?”

  Emily Dickinson (1830–1886) said by 1886 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source

• “If I can stop one heart from breaking, I shall not live in vain; If I can ease one life the aching, Or cool one pain, Or help one fainting robin Unto his nest again, I shall not live in vain.”

  Emily Dickinson (1830–1886) said by 1886 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source

• “Immortal is an ample word When what we need is by, But when it leaves us for a time, 'Tis a necessity.Of heaven above the firmest proof We fundamental know, Except for its marauding hand, It had been heaven below.”

  Emily Dickinson (1830–1886) said by 1886 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source

• “How dreary – to be – Somebody! How public – like a Frog – To tell one's name – the livelong June – To an admiring Bog!”

  Emily Dickinson (1830–1886) said by 1886 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source

• “It makes no difference abroad, The seasons fit the same, The mornings blossom into noons, And split their pods of flame.Wild-flowers kindle in the woods, The brooks brag all the day; No blackbird bates his jargoning For passing Calvary.Auto-da-fé and judgment Are nothing to the bee; His separation from his rose To him seems misery.”

  Emily Dickinson (1830–1886) said by 1886 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source

• “It might be easier To fail with land in sight, Than gain my blue peninsula To perish of delight.”

  Emily Dickinson (1830–1886) said by 1886 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source

• “It tossed and tossed,— A little brig I knew,— O'ertook by blast, It spun and spun, And groped delirious, for morn.It slipped and slipped, As one that drunken stepped; Its white foot tripped, Then dropped from sight.Ah, brig, good-night To crew and you; The ocean's heart too smooth, too blue, To break for you.”

  Emily Dickinson (1830–1886) said by 1886 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source

• “It's such a little thing to weep, So short a thing to sigh; And yet by trades the size of these We men and women die!”

  Emily Dickinson (1830–1886) said by 1886 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source

• “Love is anterior to life, Posterior to death, Initial of creation, and The exponent of breath.”

  Emily Dickinson (1830–1886) said by 1886 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source

• “Love – thou art Veiled – A few – behold thee – Smile – and alter – and prattle – and die – Bliss – were an Oddity – without thee – Nicknamed by God – Eternity –”

  Emily Dickinson (1830–1886) said by 1886 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source

• “Mine enemy is growing old,— I have at last revenge. The palate of the hate departs; If any would avenge,—Let him be quick, the viand flits, It is a faded meat. Anger as soon as fed is dead; 'Tis starving makes it fat.”

  Emily Dickinson (1830–1886) said by 1886 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source

• “More than the Grave is closed to me – The Grave and that Eternity To which the Grave adheres – I cling to nowhere till I fall – The Crash of nothing, yet of all – How similar appears –”

  Emily Dickinson (1830–1886) said by 1886 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source

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