Lyric Poem · Nature

'Twould ease—a Butterfly

by Emily Dickinson

'Twould ease — a Butterfly —

Elate — a Bee —

Thou'rt neither —

Neither — thy capacity —

But, Blossom, were I,

I would rather be

Thy moment

Than a Bee's Eternity —

Content of fading

Is enough for me —

Fade I unto Divinity —

And Dying — Lifetime —

Ample as the Eye —

Her least attention raise on me —

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“'Twould ease—a Butterfly” by Emily Dickinson — quilloak.com/poems/twould-ease-a-butterfly

Quick facts

Poem: 'Twould ease—a Butterfly
Poet: Emily Dickinson
Length: 14 lines
Form: Lyric Poem
Themes: Nature, 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: 14 lines · 4 stanzas of 3–4 lines
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.

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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'Twould ease—a Butterfly 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 495a8cb5fd2c6f36…
Editorial handling: Whitespace and stanza breaks normalized for web display; no material wording change recorded.

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Lyric Poem Nature Death & Loss

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