Poem by Emily Elizabeth Dickinson

Precedence

Wait till the majesty of Death
Invests so mean a brow!
Almost a powdered footman
Might dare to touch it now!

Wait till in everlasting robes
This democrat is dressed,
Then prate about "preferment"
And "station" and the rest!

Around this quiet courtier
Obsequious angels wait!
Full royal is his retinue,
Full purple is his state!

A lord might dare to lift the hat
To such a modest clay,
Since that my Lord, "the Lord of lords"
Receives unblushingly!

1. There Is a Shame of Nobleness
2. Till the End
3. Two Swimmers Wrestled on the Spar
4. As Summer into Autumn Slips
5. Unto My Books So Good to Turn

Print

1592 Views

Last Poems

To Russian version