Lyric Poem · Death & Loss

Bereavement in their death to feel

by Emily Dickinson

Whom We have never seen —

A Vital Kinsmanship import

Our Soul and theirs — between —

For Stranger — Strangers do not mourn —

There be Immortal friends

Whom Death see first — 'tis news of this

That paralyze Ourselves —

Who, vital only to Our Thought —

Such Presence bear away

In dying — 'tis as if Our Souls

Absconded — suddenly —

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“Bereavement in their death to feel” by Emily Dickinson — quilloak.com/poems/bereavement-in-their-death-to-feel

Quick facts

Poem: Bereavement in their death to feel
Poet: Emily Dickinson
Length: 12 lines
Form: Lyric Poem
Themes: Death & Loss, Peace, Friendship

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: 12 lines · 3 quatrains
End rhyme: No regular perfect end rhyme. The poem may still be using slant rhyme, assonance, or internal echo, which this check does not score.
Line length: Lines run 6-9 syllables (median 8), consistent with tetrameter. 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: PoetryDBBereavement in their death to feel 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 f9cea82e388f5a42…
Editorial handling: Whitespace and stanza breaks normalized for web display; no material wording change recorded.

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Lyric Poem Death & Loss Peace Friendship

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