Lyric Poem · Death & Loss

Death leaves Us homesick, who behind

by Emily Dickinson

Death leaves Us homesick, who behind,

Except that it is gone

Are ignorant of its Concern

As if it were not born.

Through all their former Places, we

Like Individuals go

Who something lost, the seeking for

Is all that's left them, now —

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“Death leaves Us homesick, who behind” by Emily Dickinson — quilloak.com/poems/death-leaves-us-homesick-who-behind

Quick facts

Poem: Death leaves Us homesick, who behind
Poet: Emily Dickinson
Length: 8 lines
Form: Lyric Poem, Short Poems
Themes: Death & Loss, Nature, 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: 8 lines · 2 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: Consistent with common metre. Alternating eight- and six-syllable lines — the hymn stanza (8.6.8.6), the most-used quatrain in English verse.

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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: PoetryDBDeath leaves Us homesick, who behind 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 8b7c67c919d2de66…
Editorial handling: Whitespace and stanza breaks normalized for web display; no material wording change recorded.

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Lyric Poem Short Poems Death & Loss Nature Short

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