by Emily Dickinson (1830 - 1886)

Language: English 
Our translations:  GER
A door just opened on a street—
  I, lost, was passing by—
An instant's width of warmth disclosed,
  And wealth, and company.

The door as sudden shut, and I,
  I, lost, was passing by,—
Lost doubly, but by contrast most,
  Enlightening misery.

Note: later editions had the following changes:
Stanza 2, line 1, word 4: "instant" instead of "sudden"
Stanza 2, line 4, word 1: "Informing" instead of "Enlightening"

Composition:

    Set to music by Anna Clyne (b. 1980), "As sudden shut", first performed 2013 [ 3 female voices, instrumental ensemble ], Boosey & Hawkes

Text Authorship:

Go to the general single-text view

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

  • GER German (Deutsch) (Bertram Kottmann) , copyright © 2020, (re)printed on this website with kind permission


Research team for this page: Emily Ezust [Administrator] , Bertram Kottmann

This text was added to the website: 2020-04-27
Line count: 8
Word count: 42