Lyric Poem · Nature

I tend my flowers for thee

by Emily Dickinson

I tend my flowers for thee —

Bright Absentee!

My Fuchsia's Coral Seams

Rip — while the Sower — dreams —

Geraniums — tint — and spot —

Low Daisies — dot —

My Cactus — splits her Beard

To show her throat —

Carnations — tip their spice —

And Bees — pick up —

A Hyacinth — I hid —

Puts out a Ruffled Head —

And odors fall

From flasks — so small —

You marvel how they held —

Globe Roses — break their satin glake —

Upon my Garden floor —

Yet — thou — not there —

I had as lief they bore

No Crimson — more —

Thy flower — be gay —

Her Lord — away!

It ill becometh me —

I'll dwell in Calyx — Gray —

How modestly — alway —

Thy Daisy —

Draped for thee!

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“I tend my flowers for thee” by Emily Dickinson — quilloak.com/poems/i-tend-my-flowers-for-thee

Quick facts

Poem: I tend my flowers for thee
Poet: Emily Dickinson
Length: 27 lines
Form: Lyric Poem
Themes: Nature, Dreams & Sleep

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: 27 lines · 5 stanzas of 4–7 lines
Line length: Lines run 4-6 syllables (median 5). 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 tend my flowers for thee 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 c30126d30336fcf8…
Editorial handling: Whitespace and stanza breaks normalized for web display; no material wording change recorded.

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Lyric Poem Nature Dreams & Sleep

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