Lyric Poem · Death & Loss
A Death blow is a Life blow to Some
A Death blow is a Life blow to Some
Who till they died, did not alive become —
Who had they lived, had died but when
They died, Vitality begun.
Full-text availability follows the United States display decision recorded below; status can differ elsewhere.
“A Death blow is a Life blow to Some” by Emily Dickinson — quilloak.com/poems/a-death-blow-is-a-life-blow-to-some
Quick facts
- Poem
- A Death blow is a Life blow to Some
- Poet
- Emily Dickinson
- Length
- 4 lines
- Form
- Lyric Poem, Short Poems
- Themes
- Death & Loss, Short
Craft notes
How this poem works
Measured from the text on this page, not copied from a summary. Counts are approximate: syllables and rhymes come from the CMU Pronouncing Dictionary, which models General American English, so dialect, older pronunciation, and performance can all change what you hear.
- Shape
- 4 lines · one 4-line stanza
- Line length
- Lines run 8-10 syllables (median 9). No single length dominates, which is normal once elision and contraction are in play.
Want the rules this form is measured against? Read what makes a lyric poem, or run your own draft through the form checker to see the same measurements on your lines. How we measure · Report a mistake
Text, source & rights
A traceable edition
Full-text display is based on the committed source record and a United States term-expiry review.
- Author record
- Emily Dickinson1830–1886
- Source record
- PoetryDBA Death blow is a Life blow to Some by emily-dickinson, PoetryDB transcription
- Display decision
- Full text · United States · reviewed 2026-07-18
- Publication record
- Not recorded in the imported source
- Text fingerprint
- SHA-256 0b860536aeecb887…
- Editorial handling
- Whitespace and stanza breaks normalized for web display; no material wording change recorded.
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