Papa above!
Regard a mouse
O'erpowered by the Cat!
Reserve within thy kingdom
A "Mansion" for the Rat!
Snug in seraphic Cupboards
To nibble all the day,
While unsuspecting Cycles
Wheel [solemnly]1 away.
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Confirmed with
The Poems of Emily Dickinson, ed. R.W. Franklin, Volume 1, Cambridge, MA and London, England: The Belknap Press of Harvard University Press, 1998, Poem 151 (Version B).
1 In Version A: „ pompously“
Text Authorship:
Musical settings (art songs, Lieder, mélodies, (etc.), choral pieces, and other vocal works set to this text), listed by composer (not necessarily exhaustive):
- by Alison Bauld (b. 1944), "The Rat", first performed 2024 [ soprano and piano ], from I Shall Not Live in Vain, no. 3 [sung text not yet checked]
- by Julian Philips (b. 1969), "The rat", 1997/2002, published 2007 [ high voice and piano ], from An Amherst Bestiary, no. 10, Peters Edition [sung text checked 1 time]
Available translations, adaptations or excerpts, and transliterations (if applicable):
- GER German (Deutsch) (Sharon Krebs) , "Die Ratte", copyright © 2014, (re)printed on this website with kind permission
Researcher for this page: Sharon Krebs
[Senior Associate Editor]This text was added to the website: 2014-08-28
Line count: 9
Word count: 34
Papa dort droben!
Sieh an eine Maus
Von einer Katze [erfaßt und] überwunden!
Behalte in deinem Reiche
Eine „Wohnung“ für die Ratte!
Behaglich in seraphischen Futterkästen
Den ganzen Tag zu knabbern,
Während arglose Zyklen
[Ernsthaft]1 von hinnen kreisen.
