by Emily Dickinson (1830 - 1886)
He fumbles at your spirit
Language: English
He fumbles at your spirit As players at the keys Before they drop full music on; He stuns you by degrees, Prepares your brittle substance For the ethereal blow, By fainter hammers, further heard, Then nearer, then so slow Your breath has time to straighten, Your brain to bubble cool,— Deals one imperial thunderbolt That scalps your naked soul.
About the headline (FAQ)
Confirmed with Poems by Emily Dickinson. Third Series, ed by Mabel Loomis Todd, Boston: Roberts Brothers, 1896.
Text Authorship:
- by Emily Dickinson (1830 - 1886), "The Master", appears in Poems by Emily Dickinson, in 2. Love, no. 12 [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 Paul Gibson (b. 1952), "He fumbles at your spirit" [ SATB chorus a cappella ] [sung text checked 1 time]
Another version of this text exists in the database.
Researcher for this text: Emily Ezust [Administrator]
This text was added to the website: 2026-02-21
Line count: 12
Word count: 59