:: Lucinda Ann Strong Long: June 3, 1907 – April 23, 2002 ::
around 1927
“Because I Could Not Stop for Death”
Because I could not stop for Death -
He kindly stopped for me -
The Carriage held but just Ourselves -
And Immortality.
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 -
Emily Dickinson
