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Lyric Poem · Nature

The Sea said "Come" to the Brook

by Emily Dickinson

The Sea said "Come" to the Brook —

The Brook said "Let me grow" —

The Sea said "Then you will be a Sea —

I want a Brook — Come now"!

The Sea said "Go" to the Sea —

The Sea said "I am he

You cherished" — "Learned Waters —

Wisdom is stale — to Me"

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

Quick facts

Poem
The Sea said "Come" to the Brook
Poet
Emily Dickinson
Length
8 lines
Form
Lyric Poem, Short Poems
Themes
Nature, 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 · 2 quatrains
Line length
Lines run 6-9 syllables (median 7). No single length dominates, which is normal once elision and contraction are in play.

Want the rules this form is measured against? Read what makes a lyric poem, or run your own draft through the form checker to see the same measurements on your lines. How we measure · Report a mistake

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 Sea said "Come" to the Brook 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 a5f6e3b3baebd412
Editorial handling
Whitespace and stanza breaks normalized for web display; no material wording change recorded.
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