414
‘Twas like a Maelstrom, with a notch,
That nearer, every Day,
Kept narrowing its boiling Wheel
Until the Agony
Toyed coolly with the final inch
Of your delirious Hem-
And you dropt, lost,
When something broke-
And let you from a Dream-
As if a Goblin with a Gauge-
Kept measuring the Hours-
Until you felt your Second
Weigh, helpless, in his Paws-
And not a Sinew-stirred-could help,
And sense was setting numb-
When God-remembered-and the Fiend
Let go, then, Overcome-
As if your Sentence stood-pronounced-
And you were frozen led
From Dungeon’s luxury of Doubt
To Gibbets, and the Dead-
And when the Film had stitched your eyes
A Creature gasped “Reprieve”!
Which Anguish was the utterest-then-
To perish, or to live?
(Emily Dickinson)
More Poetry from Emily Dickinson:
Emily Dickinson Poems based on Topics: Sense & Perception, Sadness, Dreams, Doubt & Skepticism, Movies- Awake ye muses nine, sing me a strain divine (Emily Dickinson Poems)
- Sic transit gloria mundi (Emily Dickinson Poems)
- I cannot live with You (Emily Dickinson Poems)
- The Wind begun to knead the Grass (Emily Dickinson Poems)
- One Year ago-jots what? (Emily Dickinson Poems)
- Your Riches - taugh (Emily Dickinson Poems)
Readers Who Like This Poem Also Like:
Based on Topics: Sadness Poems, Sense & Perception Poems, Dreams Poems, Doubt & Skepticism Poems, Movies PoemsBased on Keywords: gauge, notch, coolly, maelstrom, toyed, gibbets