by Emily Dickinson (1830 - 1886)
A door just opened on a street—
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.
About the headline (FAQ)
Confirmed with Poems by Emily Dickinson. Third Series, ed by Mabel Loomis Todd, Boston: Roberts Brothers, 1896.
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"
Text Authorship:
- by Emily Dickinson (1830 - 1886), "Contrast", written 1864, appears in Poems by Emily Dickinson, in 1. Life, no. 28 [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 Anna Clyne (b. 1980), "As sudden shut", first performed 2013 [ 3 female voices, instrumental ensemble ], Boosey & Hawkes [sung text checked 1 time]
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