Skip to content
QuillOak

Lyric Poem · Nature

It can't be "Summer"!

by Emily Dickinson

It can't be "Summer"!

That — got through!

It's early — yet — for "Spring"!

There's that long town of White — to cross —

Before the Blackbirds sing!

It can't be "Dying"!

It's too Rouge —

The Dead shall go in White —

So Sunset shuts my question down

With Cuffs of Chrysolite!

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

Quick facts

Poem
It can't be "Summer"!
Poet
Emily Dickinson
Length
10 lines
Form
Lyric Poem
Themes
Nature, Summer, Death & Loss, Short

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
PoetryDBIt can't be "Summer"! 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 8248438e9b778a77
Editorial handling
Whitespace and stanza breaks normalized for web display; no material wording change recorded.
Jurisdiction-specific, never a worldwide claimRights policyReport a text or rights issue

Keep reading

More nature poems