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.


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 -


By
Emily Elizabeth Dickinson