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Lyric Poem · Life

The first Day that I was a Life

by Emily Dickinson

1The first Day that I was a Life

2I recollect it — How still —

3That last Day that I was a Life

4I recollect it — as well —

5'Twas stiller — though the first

6Was still —

7"Twas empty — but the first

8Was full —

9This — was my finallest Occasion —

10But then

11My tenderer Experiment

12Toward Men —

13"Which choose I"?

14That — I cannot say —

15"Which choose They"?

16Question Memory!

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

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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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 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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