The Mind
Renunciation is a piercing virtue,
From Further Poems of Emily Dickinson (1929)
The Mind
Renunciation is a piercing virtue,
The letting go
A presence for an expectation—
Not now.
The putting out of eyes
Just sunrise,
Lest Day,
Day's great progenitor
Out-show.
Renunciation is the choosing
Against itself,
Itself to justify
Unto itself,
When larger function
Make that appear
Smaller, that sated vision. Here.
Cite this poem
MLA
Dickinson, Emily. “Renunciation is a piercing virtue.” Poetry Codex, poetrycodex.com/poem/dickinson/566/.
Chicago
Dickinson, Emily. “Renunciation is a piercing virtue.” Poetry Codex. https://poetrycodex.com/poem/dickinson/566/.
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