Lyric Poem · Nature

A Drop Fell on the Apple Tree

by Emily Dickinson

A Drop Fell on the Apple Tree —

Another — on the Roof —

A Half a Dozen kissed the Eaves —

And made the Gables laugh —

A few went out to help the Brook

That went to help the Sea —

Myself Conjectured were they Pearls —

What Necklace could be —

The Dust replaced, in Hoisted Roads —

The Birds jocoser sung —

The Sunshine threw his Hat away —

The Bushes — spangles flung —

The Breezes brought dejected Lutes —

And bathed them in the Glee —

Then Orient showed a single Flag,

And signed the Fete away —

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“A Drop Fell on the Apple Tree” by Emily Dickinson — quilloak.com/poems/a-drop-fell-on-the-apple-tree

Quick facts

Poem: A Drop Fell on the Apple Tree
Poet: Emily Dickinson
Length: 16 lines
Form: Lyric Poem
Themes: Nature, Love

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: 16 lines · 4 quatrains
Line length: Lines run 5-8 syllables (median 6), consistent with trimeter. No single length dominates, which is normal once elision and contraction are in play.

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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 Drop Fell on the Apple Tree 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 83fdae6049d4846a…
Editorial handling: Whitespace and stanza breaks normalized for web display; no material wording change recorded.

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Lyric Poem Nature Love

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