Lyric Poem · Death & Loss
Midsummer, was it, when They died
Midsummer, was it, when They died —
A full, and perfect time —
The Summer closed upon itself
In Consummated Bloom —
The Corn, her furthest kernel filled
Before the coming Flail —
When These — leaned unto Perfectness —
Through Haze of Burial —
Full-text availability follows the United States display decision recorded below; status can differ elsewhere.
“Midsummer, was it, when They died” by Emily Dickinson — quilloak.com/poems/midsummer-was-it-when-they-died
Quick facts
- Poem
- Midsummer, was it, when They died
- Poet
- Emily Dickinson
- Length
- 8 lines
- Form
- Lyric Poem, Short Poems
- Themes
- Death & Loss, Summer, Nature, Short
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
- 8 lines · 2 quatrains
- 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.
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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
- PoetryDBMidsummer, was it, when They died 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 afb51ad798cd662d…
- Editorial handling
- Whitespace and stanza breaks normalized for web display; no material wording change recorded.
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