Attention! Some of this material is not in the public domain.
It is illegal to copy and distribute our copyright-protected material without permission. It is also illegal to reprint copyright texts or translations without the name of the author or translator.
To inquire about permissions and rates, contact Emily Ezust at 
If you wish to reprint translations, please make sure you include the names of the translators in your email. They are below each translation.
Note: You must use the copyright symbol © when you reprint copyright-protected material.
I like to see it lap the miles, And lick the valleys up, And stop to feed itself at tanks; And then, prodigious, step Around a pile of mountains, And, supercilious, peer In shanties by the sides of roads; And then a quarry pare To fit its [sides]1, and crawl between, Complaining all the while In horrid, hooting stanza; Then chase itself down hill And neigh like Boanerges; Then, punctual as a star, Stop - docile and omnipotent - At its own stable door.
About the headline (FAQ)
View original text (without footnotes)1 Getty, Perle: "ribs"
Authorship
- by Emily Dickinson (1830 - 1886), no title, appears in Poems by Emily Dickinson, first published 1891 [author's text checked 1 time against a primary source]
Musical settings (art songs, Lieder, mélodies, (etc.), choral pieces, and other vocal works set to this text), listed by composer (not necessarily exhaustive)
- by Gordon Getty (b. 1933), "I like to see it lap the miles" [soprano and piano], from The White Election - A Song Cycle for soprano and piano on 32 poems of Emily Dickinson, Part 3 : Almost Peace, no. 19. [ sung text verified 1 time]
- by George Perle (1915 - 2009), "I like to see it lap the miles", 1977 [voice and piano], from Thirteen Dickinson Songs, no. 2. [ sung text verified 1 time]
- by William Keith Rogers (b. 1921), "I like to see it lap the miles", published 1948 [SATB chorus a cappella], from Three Songs from Emily Dickinson, no. 2. [ sung text not verified ]
- by Adolf Weiss (1891 - 1971), "The railway train", 1928, published c1930 [soprano and string quartet], from Seven Songs for Soprano and String Quartet, no. 3. [ sung text not verified ]
Available translations, adaptations or excerpts, and transliterations (if applicable):
- FRE French (Français) (Guy Laffaille) , copyright © 2016, (re)printed on this website with kind permission
- GER German (Deutsch) (Bertram Kottmann) , copyright © 2017, (re)printed on this website with kind permission
Researcher for this text: Emily Ezust [Administrator]
This text was added to the website between May 1995 and September 2003.
Line count: 16
Word count: 84
J'aime le voir avaler les Miles -- Et lécher le fond des Vallées -- Et s'arrêter pour se nourrir aux Réservoirs -- Et puis -- prodigieusement aller Autour d'un Tas de Montagnes -- Et dédaigneusement regarder Les cabanes -- au bord des Routes -- Et puis peler une Carrière Pour s'ajuster à ses côtés et ramper à travers Se plaignant tout le temps En un couplet horrible -- de son sifflet -- Puis se pourchasser lui-même en descendant la Colline -- Et hennir comme Boanergès -- Puis -- plus à l'heure qu'une Étoile S'arrêter -- docile et tout puissant À la porte de son étable --
About the headline (FAQ)
Translations of title(s):
"The railway train" = "Le chemin de fer"
"I like to see it lap the miles" = "J'aime le voir avaler les Miles"
Authorship
- Translation from English to French (Français) copyright © 2016 by Guy Laffaille, (re)printed on this website with kind permission. To reprint and distribute this author's work for concert programs, CD booklets, etc., you may ask the copyright-holder(s) directly or ask us; we are authorized to grant permission on their behalf. Please provide the translator's name when contacting us.
Contact: 
- a text in English by Emily Dickinson (1830 - 1886), no title, appears in Poems by Emily Dickinson, first published 1891
This text was added to the website: 2016-12-31
Line count: 16
Word count: 92