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Lyric Poem · Love

Now I knew I lost her

by Emily Dickinson

Now I knew I lost her —

Not that she was gone —

But Remoteness travelled

On her Face and Tongue.

Alien, though adjoining

As a Foreign Race —

Traversed she though pausing

Latitudeless Place.

Elements Unaltered —

Universe the same

But Love's transmigration —

Somehow this had come —

Henceforth to remember

Nature took the Day

I had paid so much for —

His is Penury

Not who toils for Freedom

Or for Family

But the Restitution

Of Idolatry.

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

Quick facts

Poem
Now I knew I lost her
Poet
Emily Dickinson
Length
20 lines
Form
Lyric Poem
Themes
Love

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 · 4 stanzas of 4–8 lines
Line length
Lines run 5-7 syllables (median 6), consistent with trimeter. 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
PoetryDBNow I knew I lost her 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 bb36c8af42954011
Editorial handling
Whitespace and stanza breaks normalized for web display; no material wording change recorded.
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