The world feels dusty | The world feels dusty

The world feels dusty

Language: English

Our translations: CAT CHI FRE GER ITA

The world feels dusty,
when we stop to die...
We want the dew then
Honors taste dry...

Flags vex a dying face
But the least fan
stirred by a friend's hand
Cools like the rain

Mine be the ministry
when thy thirst comes...
Dews of thyself to fetch 
and holy balms.

About the headline (FAQ)

This version was published many times, including in the Atlantic Monthly (Volume 143, 1929), before the more authoritative versions came out with the more characteristic punctuation. There are also a few changes to the words in the last stanza. See below.

Text Authorship:

by Emily Dickinson (1830 - 1886), no title, appears in Further poems of Emily Dickinson [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 Aaron Copland (1900 - 1990), "The world feels dusty", 1949-50, published 1951 [ mezzo-soprano, piano ], from Twelve Poems of Emily Dickinson, no. 4 [sung text checked 1 time]

Another version of this text exists in the database.

Go to the text. [ view differences ]

Available translations, adaptations or excerpts, and transliterations (if applicable):

Researcher for this text: Emily Ezust [Administrator]

This text was added to the website between May 1995 and September 2003.
Line count: 12
Word count: 51