Lyric Poem · Peace
"Heaven"—is what I cannot reach!
"Heaven" — is what I cannot reach!
The Apple on the Tree —
Provided it do hopeless — hang —
That — "Heaven" is — to Me!
The Color, on the Cruising Cloud —
The interdicted Land —
Behind the Hill — the House behind —
There — Paradise — is found!
Her teasing Purples — Afternoons —
The credulous — decoy —
Enamored — of the Conjuror —
That spurned us — Yesterday!
Full-text availability follows the United States display decision recorded below; status can differ elsewhere.
“"Heaven"—is what I cannot reach!” by Emily Dickinson — quilloak.com/poems/heaven-is-what-i-cannot-reach
Quick facts
- Poem
- "Heaven"—is what I cannot reach!
- Poet
- Emily Dickinson
- Length
- 12 lines
- Form
- Lyric Poem
- Themes
- Peace, Nature
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
- 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
- PoetryDB"Heaven"—is what I cannot reach! 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 33c706a7fbfbd563…
- Editorial handling
- Whitespace and stanza breaks normalized for web display; no material wording change recorded.
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