Lyric Poem · Death & Loss

Do People moulder equally

by Emily Dickinson

Do People moulder equally,

They bury, in the Grave?

I do believe a Species

As positively live

As I, who testify it

Deny that I — am dead —

And fill my Lungs, for Witness —

From Tanks — above my Head —

I say to you, said Jesus —

That there be standing here —

A Sort, that shall not taste of Death —

If Jesus was sincere —

I need no further Argue —

That statement of the Lord

Is not a controvertible —

He told me, Death was dead —

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“Do People moulder equally” by Emily Dickinson — quilloak.com/poems/do-people-moulder-equally

Quick facts

Poem: Do People moulder equally
Poet: Emily Dickinson
Length: 16 lines
Form: Lyric Poem
Themes: Death & Loss

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
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 6-8 syllables (median 7). 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: PoetryDBDo People moulder equally 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 73c132fde3ad08c3…
Editorial handling: Whitespace and stanza breaks normalized for web display; no material wording change recorded.

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Lyric Poem Death & Loss

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