Lyric Poem · Nature
The Rose did caper on her cheek
1The Rose did caper on her cheek —
2Her Bodice rose and fell —
3Her pretty speech — like drunken men —
4Did stagger pitiful —
5Her fingers fumbled at her work —
6Her needle would not go —
7What ailed so smart a little Maid —
8It puzzled me to know —
Full-text availability follows the United States display decision recorded below; status can differ elsewhere.
“The Rose did caper on her cheek” by Emily Dickinson — quilloak.com/poems/the-rose-did-caper-on-her-cheek
Quick facts
- Poem
- The Rose did caper on her cheek
- Poet
- Emily Dickinson
- Length
- 16 lines
- Form
- Lyric Poem
- Themes
- Nature
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
- Line length
- Lines run 6-8 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 Rose did caper on her cheek 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 f5c7ecd5c538fcce…
- Editorial handling
- Whitespace and stanza breaks normalized for web display; no material wording change recorded.