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Lyric Poem · Life

Of Life to own

by Emily Dickinson

Of Life to own —

From Life to draw —

But never tough the reservoir —

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

Quick facts

Poem
Of Life to own
Poet
Emily Dickinson
Length
3 lines
Form
Lyric Poem, Short Poems
Themes
Life, 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
3 lines · one 3-line stanza
End rhyme
No regular perfect end rhyme. The poem may still be using slant rhyme, assonance, or internal echo, which this check does not score.
Line length
Mostly 4-syllable lines (dimeter length).

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
PoetryDBOf Life to own 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 47c4c1f65091ff4e
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

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