Death & Dying

There's a certain slant of light

by Emily Dickinson 1830–1886

Death & Dying

There's a certain slant of light,
On winter afternoons,
That oppresses, like the weight
Of cathedral tunes.

Heavenly hurt it gives us;
We can find no scar,
But internal difference
Where the meanings are.

None may teach it anything,
'T is the seal, despair, --
An imperial affliction
Sent us of the air.

When it comes, the landscape listens,
Shadows hold their breath;
When it goes, 't is like the distance
On the look of death.

MLA

Dickinson, Emily. “There's a certain slant of light.” Poetry Codex, poetrycodex.com/poem/dickinson/74/.

Chicago

Dickinson, Emily. “There's a certain slant of light.” Poetry Codex. https://poetrycodex.com/poem/dickinson/74/.

Read this poem with the Codex →

More by Emily Dickinson