The Mind

The props assist the house

by Emily Dickinson 1830–1886

From The Single Hound (1914)

The Mind

The props assist the house
Until the house is built,
And then the props withdraw—
And adequate, erect,
The house supports itself;
Ceasing to recollect
The auger and the carpenter.
Just such a retrospect
Hath the perfected life,
A past of plank and nail,
And slowness,—then the scaffolds drop—
Affirming it a soul.

MLA

Dickinson, Emily. “The props assist the house.” Poetry Codex, poetrycodex.com/poem/dickinson/746/.

Chicago

Dickinson, Emily. “The props assist the house.” Poetry Codex. https://poetrycodex.com/poem/dickinson/746/.

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