Lyric Poem · Nature
If the foolish, call them "flowers"
If the foolish, call them "flowers" —
Need the wiser, tell?
If the Savants "Classify" them
It is just as well!
Those who read the "Revelations"
Must not criticize
Those who read the same Edition —
With beclouded Eyes!
Could we stand with that Old "Moses" —
"Canaan" denied —
Scan like him, the stately landscape
On the other side —
Doubtless, we should deem superfluous
Many Sciences,
Not pursued by learned Angels
In scholastic skies!
Low amid that glad Belles lettres
Grant that we may stand,
Stars, amid profound Galaxies —
At that grand "Right hand"!
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“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.
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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 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.
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