by Emily Dickinson (1830 - 1886)
Promise This ‑‑ When You be Dying
Language: English
Promise This -- When You be Dying -- Some shall summon Me -- Mine belong Your latest Sighing -- Mine -- to Belt Your Eye -- Not with Coins -- though they be Minted From an Emperor's Hand -- Be my lips -- the only Buckle Your low Eyes -- demand -- Mine to stay -- when all have wandered -- To devise once more If the Life be too surrendered -- Life of Mine -- restore -- Poured like this -- My Whole Libation -- Just that You should see Bliss of Death -- Life's Bliss extol thro' Imitating You -- Mine -- to guard Your Narrow Precinct -- To seduce the Sun Longest on Your South, to linger, Largest Dews of Morn To demand, in Your low favor Lest the Jealous Grass Greener lean -- Or fonder cluster Round some other face -- Mine to supplicate Madonna -- If Madonna be Could behold so far a Creature -- Christ -- omitted -- Me -- Just to follow Your dear future -- Ne'er so far behind -- For My Heaven -- Had I not been Most enough -- denied?
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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 Daniel Rogers Pinkham (1923 - 2006), "Promise this", from Called Home, no. 2. [text not verified]
Researcher for this text: Emily Ezust [Administrator]
This text was added to the website: 2010-11-01
Line count: 33
Word count: 157