Lyric Poem · Life

The first Day that I was a Life

by Emily Dickinson

I recollect it — How still —

That last Day that I was a Life

I recollect it — as well —

'Twas stiller — though the first

Was still —

"Twas empty — but the first

Was full —

This — was my finallest Occasion —

But then

My tenderer Experiment

Toward Men —

"Which choose I"?

That — I cannot say —

"Which choose They"?

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“The first Day that I was a Life” by Emily Dickinson — quilloak.com/poems/the-first-day-that-i-was-a-life

Quick facts

Poem: The first Day that I was a Life
Poet: Emily Dickinson
Length: 16 lines
Form: Lyric Poem
Themes: Life

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: 16 lines · 4 quatrains

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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 first Day that I was a Life 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 730d884893656620…
Editorial handling: Whitespace and stanza breaks normalized for web display; no material wording change recorded.

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Lyric Poem Life

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