Skip to content
QuillOak

Lyric Poem · Nature

Ah, Moon—and Star!

by Emily Dickinson

Ah, Moon — and Star!

You are very far —

But were no one

Farther than you —

Do you think I'd stop

For a Firmament —

Or a Cubit — or so?

I could borrow a Bonnet

Of the Lark —

And a Chamois' Silver Boot —

And a stirrup of an Antelope —

And be with you — Tonight!

But, Moon, and Star,

Though you're very far —

There is one — farther than you —

He — is more than a firmament — from Me —

So I can never go!

Full-text availability follows the United States display decision recorded below; status can differ elsewhere.

Quick facts

Poem
Ah, Moon—and Star!
Poet
Emily Dickinson
Length
17 lines
Form
Lyric Poem
Themes
Nature

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
17 lines · 3 stanzas of 5–7 lines

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
PoetryDBAh, Moon—and Star! 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 9485b0f22d3a8eae
Editorial handling
Whitespace and stanza breaks normalized for web display; no material wording change recorded.
Jurisdiction-specific, never a worldwide claimRights policyReport a text or rights issue

Keep reading

More nature poems