Lyric Poem · Life

Expanse cannot be lost

by Emily Dickinson

Expanse cannot be lost —

Not Joy, but a Decree

Is Deity —

His Scene, Infinity —

Whose rumor's Gate was shut so tight

Before my Beam was sown,

Not even a Prognostic's push

Could make a Dent thereon —

The World that thou hast opened

Shuts for thee,

But not alone,

We all have followed thee —

Escape more slowly

To thy Tracts of Sheen —

The Tent is listening,

But the Troops are gone!

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“Expanse cannot be lost” by Emily Dickinson — quilloak.com/poems/expanse-cannot-be-lost

Quick facts

Poem: Expanse cannot be lost
Poet: Emily Dickinson
Length: 16 lines
Form: Lyric Poem
Themes: Life

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 · 2 octaves

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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: PoetryDBExpanse cannot be lost 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 5818a3ac1b5fc640…
Editorial handling: Whitespace and stanza breaks normalized for web display; no material wording change recorded.

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Lyric Poem Life

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