Lyric Poem · Nature

The Winters are so short

by Emily Dickinson

The Winters are so short —

I'm hardly justified

In sending all the Birds away —

And moving into Pod —

Myself — for scarcely settled —

The Phoebes have begun —

And then — it's time to strike my Tent —

And open House — again —

It's mostly, interruptions —

My Summer — is despoiled —

Because there was a Winter — once —

And al the Cattle — starved —

And so there was a Deluge —

And swept the World away —

But Ararat's a Legend — now —

And no one credits Noah —

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“The Winters are so short” by Emily Dickinson — quilloak.com/poems/the-winters-are-so-short

Quick facts

Poem: The Winters are so short
Poet: Emily Dickinson
Length: 16 lines
Form: Lyric Poem
Themes: Nature, Winter, Summer

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 Winters are so short 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 4ecc22fc97e874ad…
Editorial handling: Whitespace and stanza breaks normalized for web display; no material wording change recorded.

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Lyric Poem Nature Winter Summer

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