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Lyric Poem · Peace

Their Height in Heaven comforts not

by Emily Dickinson

Their Height in Heaven comforts not —

Their Glory — nought to me —

'Twas best imperfect — as it was —

I'm finite — I can't see —

The House of Supposition —

The Glimmering Frontier that

Skirts the Acres of Perhaps —

To Me — shows insecure —

The Wealth I had — contented me —

If 'twas a meaner size —

Then I had counted it until

It pleased my narrow Eyes —

Better than larger values —

That show however true —

This timid life of Evidence

Keeps pleading — "I don't know."

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

Quick facts

Poem
Their Height in Heaven comforts not
Poet
Emily Dickinson
Length
16 lines
Form
Lyric Poem
Themes
Peace

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
PoetryDBTheir Height in Heaven comforts not 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 0bac1aecf9cc4585
Editorial handling
Whitespace and stanza breaks normalized for web display; no material wording change recorded.
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