Lyric Poem · Nature

He told a homely tale

by Emily Dickinson

Reading room

1He told a homely tale

2And spotted it with tears —

3Upon his infant face was set

4The Cicatrice of years —

5All crumpled was the cheek

6No other kiss had known

7Than flake of snow, divided with

8The Redbreast of the Barn —

9If Mother — in the Grave —

10Or Father — on the Sea —

11Or Father in the Firmament —

12Or Brethren, had he —

13If Commonwealth below,

14Or Commonwealth above

15Have missed a Barefoot Citizen —

16I've ransomed it — alive —

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“He told a homely tale” by Emily Dickinson — quilloak.com/poems/he-told-a-homely-tale

Quick facts

Poem: He told a homely tale
Poet: Emily Dickinson
Length: 16 lines
Form: Lyric Poem
Themes: Nature, Winter, Love

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 5-8 syllables (median 6), consistent with trimeter. No single length dominates, which is normal once elision and contraction are in play.

The poem’s silhouette — approximate syllables per line, measured from the text above. Even bars mean a measured line; ragged bars mean the poem sets its own widths.

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Text, source & rights

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Author record: Emily Dickinson1830–1886
Source record: PoetryDBHe told a homely tale 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 0231ef5f4453a6ad…
Editorial handling: Whitespace and stanza breaks normalized for web display; no material wording change recorded.

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Lyric Poem Nature Winter Love

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