Lyric Poem · Nature

Summer—we all have seen

by Emily Dickinson

Summer — we all have seen —

A few of us — believed —

A few — the more aspiring

Unquestionably loved —

But Summer does not care —

She goes her spacious way

As eligible as the moon

To our Temerity —

The Doom to be adored —

The Affluence conferred —

Unknown as to an Ecstasy

The Embryo endowed —

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“Summer—we all have seen” by Emily Dickinson — quilloak.com/poems/summer-we-all-have-seen

Quick facts

Poem: Summer—we all have seen
Poet: Emily Dickinson
Length: 12 lines
Form: Lyric Poem
Themes: Nature, Summer, 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: 12 lines · 3 quatrains
Line length: Lines run 6-8 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: PoetryDBSummer—we all have seen 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 75e4cd37cc7e0181…
Editorial handling: Whitespace and stanza breaks normalized for web display; no material wording change recorded.

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Lyric Poem Nature Summer Love

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