Lyric Poem · Nature

If the foolish, call them "flowers"

by Emily Dickinson

Reading room

1If the foolish, call them "flowers" —

2Need the wiser, tell?

3If the Savants "Classify" them

4It is just as well!

5Those who read the "Revelations"

6Must not criticize

7Those who read the same Edition —

8With beclouded Eyes!

9Could we stand with that Old "Moses" —

10"Canaan" denied —

11Scan like him, the stately landscape

12On the other side —

13Doubtless, we should deem superfluous

14Many Sciences,

15Not pursued by learned Angels

16In scholastic skies!

17Low amid that glad Belles lettres

18Grant that we may stand,

19Stars, amid profound Galaxies —

20At that grand "Right hand"!

Full-text availability follows the United States display decision recorded below; status can differ elsewhere.

Tip: click any line number to copy a ready-made citation for that line.

“If the foolish, call them "flowers"” by Emily Dickinson — quilloak.com/poems/if-the-foolish-call-them-flowers

Quick facts

Poem: If the foolish, call them "flowers"
Poet: Emily Dickinson
Length: 20 lines
Form: Lyric Poem
Themes: Nature, Peace

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: 20 lines · 5 quatrains
Line length: Lines run 5-8 syllables (median 7). 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.

Want the rules this form is measured against? Read what makes a lyric poem, or run your own draft through the form checker to see the same measurements on your lines. How we measure · Report a mistake

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 the foolish, call them "flowers" 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 4969f87bcef39e6d…
Editorial handling: Whitespace and stanza breaks normalized for web display; no material wording change recorded.

Jurisdiction-specific, never a worldwide claimRights policy Report a text or rights issue

Lyric Poem Nature Peace

Keep reading

She Walks in Beauty

Lord Byron · 1814

She walks in beauty, like the nightOf cloudless climes and starry skies;And all that's best of dark and bright

18 lines · lyric

Love's Philosophy

Percy Bysshe Shelley · 1819

The fountains mingle with the riverAnd the rivers with the ocean,The winds of heaven mix for ever

16 lines · lyric

When You Are Old

W. B. Yeats · 1893

When you are old and grey and full of sleep,And nodding by the fire, take down this book,And slowly read, and dream of the soft look

12 lines · lyric

More nature poems →