Lyric Poem · Death & Loss

'Twas just this time, last year, I died

by Emily Dickinson

'Twas just this time, last year, I died.

I know I heard the Corn,

When I was carried by the Farms —

It had the Tassels on —

I thought how yellow it would look —

When Richard went to mill —

And then, I wanted to get out,

But something held my will.

I thought just how Red — Apples wedged

The Stubble's joints between —

And the Carts stooping round the fields

To take the Pumpkins in —

I wondered which would miss me, least,

And when Thanksgiving, came,

If Father'd multiply the plates —

To make an even Sum —

And would it blur the Christmas glee

My Stocking hang too high

For any Santa Claus to reach

The Altitude of me —

But this sort, grieved myself,

And so, I thought the other way,

How just this time, some perfect year —

Themself, should come to me —

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“'Twas just this time, last year, I died” by Emily Dickinson — quilloak.com/poems/twas-just-this-time-last-year-i-died

Quick facts

Poem: 'Twas just this time, last year, I died
Poet: Emily Dickinson
Length: 24 lines
Form: Lyric Poem
Themes: Death & Loss

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: 24 lines · 6 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 8), consistent with tetrameter. 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: PoetryDB'Twas just this time, last year, I died 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 48f33c092ac156fa…
Editorial handling: Whitespace and stanza breaks normalized for web display; no material wording change recorded.

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Lyric Poem Death & Loss

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