Why ‑‑ do they shut me out of Heaven?

Why -- do they shut me out of Heaven?
Did I sing -- too loud?
But -- I can sing a little minor,
Timid as a bird.

Wouldn't the angels try me -- 
just -- once -- more --
Just -- see -- if I troubled them --
But don't -- shut the door!

Oh if I -- were the Gentlemen 
in the White [Robe]1
and they -- were the little Hand -- that knocked --
Could -- I -- forbid?

Why do they shut me out of Heaven?
Did I sing too loud?

Translation(s): CAT FRE GER ITA

List of language codes

About the headline (FAQ)

Authorship

• by Emily Dickinson (1830 - 1886), no title, appears in Further poems of Emily Dickinson, first published 1929 [ author's text checked 1 time]

Musical settings (art songs, Lieder, mélodies, (etc.), choral pieces, and other vocal works set to this text), listed by composer (not necessarily exhaustive)

• by Aaron Copland (1900 - 1990), "Why do they shut me out of Heaven?", 1949-50, published 1951 [voice, piano], from Twelve Poems of Emily Dickinson, no. 3. [
   text verified 1 time
  ]
• by Juliana Hall , "Why -- do they shut me out of Heaven", 1999, first performed 2001 [soprano and piano], from Paradise - 7 songs for Soprano and Piano, no. 3. [
   text not verified 
  ]
• by Irwin Heilner (b. 1908), "Poem", 1930, rev. 1972. [medium voice, piano] [
   text not verified 
  ]

Available translations, adaptations, and transliterations (if applicable):

• FRE French (Français) (Guy Laffaille) , title 1: "Pourquoi m'ont-ils fermé la porte du ciel", copyright © 2008, (re)printed on this website with kind permission
• ITA Italian (Italiano) (Ferdinando Albeggiani) , copyright © 2010, (re)printed on this website with kind permission
• GER German (Deutsch) (Bertram Kottmann) , copyright © 2011, (re)printed on this website with kind permission
• CAT Catalan (Català) (Salvador Pila) , title 1: "Per què m’han tancat les portes del cel?", copyright © 2016, (re)printed on this website with kind permission

Text added to the website between May 1995 and September 2003.

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