Lyric Poem · Nature

I suppose the time will come

by Emily Dickinson

Aid it in the coming

When the Bird will crowd the Tree

And the Bee be booming.

I suppose the time will come

Hinder it a little

When the Corn in Silk will dress

And in Chintz the Apple

I believe the Day will be

When the Jay will giggle

At his new white House the Earth

That, too, halt a little —

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“I suppose the time will come” by Emily Dickinson — quilloak.com/poems/i-suppose-the-time-will-come

Quick facts

Poem: I suppose the time will come
Poet: Emily Dickinson
Length: 12 lines
Form: Lyric Poem
Themes: 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 6-7 syllables (median 7). No single length dominates, which is normal once elision and contraction are in play.
Refrain: “I suppose the time will come”Repeated lines act as the poem's hinge or drumbeat.

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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 suppose the time will come 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 5f30d18ad5c85b1d…
Editorial handling: Whitespace and stanza breaks normalized for web display; no material wording change recorded.

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Lyric Poem Nature

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