Lyric Poem · Peace

I never felt at Home—Below

by Emily Dickinson

I never felt at Home — Below —

And in the Handsome Skies

I shall not feel at Home — I know —

I don't like Paradise —

Because it's Sunday — all the time —

And Recess — never comes —

And Eden'll be so lonesome

Bright Wednesday Afternoons —

If God could make a visit —

Or ever took a Nap —

So not to see us — but they say

Himself — a Telescope

Perennial beholds us —

Myself would run away

From Him — and Holy Ghost — and All —

But there's the "Judgement Day"!

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“I never felt at Home—Below” by Emily Dickinson — quilloak.com/poems/i-never-felt-at-home-below

Quick facts

Poem: I never felt at Home—Below
Poet: Emily Dickinson
Length: 16 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: 16 lines · 4 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: PoetryDBI never felt at Home—Below 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 5e5995368017deec…
Editorial handling: Whitespace and stanza breaks normalized for web display; no material wording change recorded.

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Lyric Poem Peace Nature

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