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Lyric Poem · Nature

If I could bribe them by a Rose

by Emily Dickinson

1If I could bribe them by a Rose

2I'd bring them every flower that grows

3From Amherst to Cashmere!

4I would not stop for night, or storm —

5Or frost, or death, or anyone —

6My business were so dear!

7If they would linger for a Bird

8My Tambourin were soonest heard

9Among the April Woods!

10Unwearied, all the summer long,

11Only to break in wilder song

12When Winter shook the boughs!

13What if they hear me!

14Who shall say

15That such an importunity

16May not at last avail?

17That, weary of this Beggar's face —

18They may not finally say, Yes —

19To drive her from the Hall?

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Quick facts

Poem
If I could bribe them by a Rose
Poet
Emily Dickinson
Length
19 lines
Form
Lyric Poem
Themes
Nature, Winter, Spring

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
19 lines · 4 stanzas of 3–6 lines
Line length
Lines run 5-8 syllables (median 8), consistent with tetrameter. 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

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
PoetryDBIf I could bribe them by a Rose 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 1a784e602d14a4f6
Editorial handling
Whitespace and stanza breaks normalized for web display; no material wording change recorded.
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