Because I Could Not Stop For Death

Poem Reading

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 drew 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 – in the Ground –

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

Poem Summary

This poem by Emily Dickinson is a reflection on the concept of death. The speaker reflects on how death, personified as a kind gentleman, comes to take them away on a journey. The speaker realizes that death has been with them all along and will be with them until the end. The poem is a meditation on how death is inevitable and how it is ever-present and unavoidable. The poem is a reminder of the importance of living life to its fullest, as death can come at any time.

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