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Lyric Poem · Nature

These are the Signs to Nature's Inns

by Emily Dickinson

These are the Signs to Nature's Inns —

Her invitation broad

To Whosoever famishing

To taste her mystic Bread —

These are the rites of Nature's House —

The Hospitality

That opens with an equal width

To Beggar and to Bee

For Sureties of her staunch Estate

Her undecaying Cheer

The Purple in the East is set

And in the North, the Star —

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Quick facts

Poem
These are the Signs to Nature's Inns
Poet
Emily Dickinson
Length
12 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
12 lines · 3 quatrains
End rhyme
No regular perfect end rhyme. The poem may still be using slant rhyme, assonance, or internal echo, which this check does not score.
Line length
Lines run 6-9 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
PoetryDBThese are the Signs to Nature's Inns 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 c4338d1c31d7f838
Editorial handling
Whitespace and stanza breaks normalized for web display; no material wording change recorded.
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