After great pain, a formal feeling comes
After great pain, a formal feeling comes
Emily Dickinson
After great pain, a formal feeling comes —
The Nerves sit ceremonious, like Tombs —
The stiff Heart questions 'was it He, that bore,'
And 'Yesterday, or Centuries before'?
The Feet, mechanical, go round —
Of Ground, or Air, or Ought —
A Wooden way
Regardless grown,
A Quartz contentment, like a stone —
This is the Hour of Lead —
Remembered, if outlived,
As Freezing persons, recollect the Snow —
First — Chill — then Stupor — then the letting go —
Verse breaks and indentation are preserved. Wrapped lines have a hanging indent. Width adapts to your screen.
Written c. 1862. Published 1929.
