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Lyric Poem · Peace

The Fact that Earth is Heaven

by Emily Dickinson

The Fact that Earth is Heaven —

Whether Heaven is Heaven or not

If not an Affidavit

Of that specific Spot

Not only must confirm us

That it is not for us

But that it would affront us

To dwell in such a place —

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

Quick facts

Poem
The Fact that Earth is Heaven
Poet
Emily Dickinson
Length
8 lines
Form
Lyric Poem, Short Poems
Themes
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
Line length
Lines run 6-9 syllables (median 7). 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
PoetryDBThe Fact that Earth is Heaven 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 ce4aeb275fcf8eee
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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