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by Emily Dickinson (1830 - 1886)

I had been hungry, all the Years —
Language: English 
I had been hungry, all the Years —
My Noon had Come — to dine —
I trembling drew the Table near —
And touched the Curious Wine —

'Twas this on Tables I had seen —
When turning, hungry, Lone
I looked in Windows, for the Wealth
I could not hope — to Own —

I did not know the ample Bread —
'Twas so unlike the Crumb
The Birds and I, had often shared
In Nature's — Dining Room —

The Plenty hurt me — 'twas so new —
Myself felt ill — and odd —
As Berry — of a Mountain Bush —
Transplanted — to a Road —

Nor was I hungry — so I found
That Hunger — was a way
Of Persons outside Windows —
The Entering — takes away — 

About the headline (FAQ)

Text Authorship:

  • by Emily Dickinson (1830 - 1886), no title [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 Logan Skelton , "I had been hungry, all the Years", 2008 [ soprano and piano ], from Dickinson Songs, Book 2: The Unknown Peninsula, no. 4 [sung text not yet checked]

Researcher for this text: Emily Ezust [Administrator]

This text was added to the website: 2019-10-16
Line count: 20
Word count: 137

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