Lyric Poem · Death & Loss

So give me back to Death

by Emily Dickinson

So give me back to Death —

The Death I never feared

Except that it deprived of thee —

And now, by Life deprived,

In my own Grave I breathe

And estimate its size —

Its size is all that Hell can guess —

And all that Heaven was —

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“So give me back to Death” by Emily Dickinson — quilloak.com/poems/so-give-me-back-to-death

Quick facts

Poem: So give me back to Death
Poet: Emily Dickinson
Length: 8 lines
Form: Lyric Poem, Short Poems
Themes: Death & Loss, Peace, 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 · one 8-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 6-syllable lines (trimeter length).

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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: PoetryDBSo give me back to Death 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 06727c2b14748d0a…
Editorial handling: Whitespace and stanza breaks normalized for web display; no material wording change recorded.

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Lyric Poem Short Poems Death & Loss Peace Short

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