Lyric Poem · Love
Three times—we parted—Breath—and I
Three times — we parted — Breath — and I —
Three times — He would not go —
But strove to stir the lifeless Fan
The Waters — strove to stay.
Three Times — the Billows tossed me up —
Then caught me — like a Ball —
Then made Blue faces in my face —
And pushed away a sail
That crawled Leagues off — I liked to see —
For thinking — while I die —
How pleasant to behold a Thing
Where Human faces — be —
The Waves grew sleepy — Breath — did not —
The Winds — like Children — lulled —
Then Sunrise kissed my Chrysalis —
And I stood up — and lived —
Full-text availability follows the United States display decision recorded below; status can differ elsewhere.
“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.
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
- 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.
Keep reading
Sonnet 18: Shall I compare thee to a summer's day?
William Shakespeare · 1609
14 lines · sonnet
Sonnet 116: Let me not to the marriage of true minds
William Shakespeare · 1609
14 lines · sonnet
Sonnet 130: My mistress' eyes are nothing like the sun
William Shakespeare · 1609
14 lines · sonnet