Lyric Poem · Love

Three times—we parted—Breath—and I

by Emily Dickinson

Reading room

1Three times — we parted — Breath — and I —

2Three times — He would not go —

3But strove to stir the lifeless Fan

4The Waters — strove to stay.

5Three Times — the Billows tossed me up —

6Then caught me — like a Ball —

7Then made Blue faces in my face —

8And pushed away a sail

9That crawled Leagues off — I liked to see —

10For thinking — while I die —

11How pleasant to behold a Thing

12Where Human faces — be —

13The Waves grew sleepy — Breath — did not —

14The Winds — like Children — lulled —

15Then Sunrise kissed my Chrysalis —

16And I stood up — and lived —

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“Three times—we parted—Breath—and I” by Emily Dickinson — quilloak.com/poems/three-times-we-parted-breath-and-i

Quick facts

Poem: Three times—we parted—Breath—and I
Poet: Emily Dickinson
Length: 16 lines
Form: Lyric Poem
Themes: Love, Death & Loss, 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
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 6-8 syllables (median 7). No single length dominates, which is normal once elision and contraction are in play.

The poem’s silhouette — approximate syllables per line, measured from the text above. Even bars mean a measured line; ragged bars mean the poem sets its own widths.

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Text, source & rights

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Full-text display is based on the committed source record and a United States term-expiry review.

Author record: Emily Dickinson1830–1886
Source record: PoetryDBThree times—we parted—Breath—and I 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 0290bc211edb7ae0…
Editorial handling: Whitespace and stanza breaks normalized for web display; no material wording change recorded.

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Lyric Poem Love Death & Loss Nature

Three times—we parted—Breath—and I

Quick facts

How this poem works

A traceable edition

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