Lyric Poem · Dreams & Sleep

We dream—it is good we are dreaming

by Emily Dickinson

Reading room

1We dream — it is good we are dreaming —

2It would hurt us — were we awake —

3But since it is playing — kill us,

4And we are playing — shriek —

5What harm? Men die — externally —

6It is a truth — of Blood —

7But we — are dying in Drama —

8And Drama — is never dead —

9Cautious — We jar each other —

10And either — open the eyes —

11Lest the Phantasm — prove the Mistake —

12And the livid Surprise

13Cool us to Shafts of Granite —

14With just an Age — and Name —

15And perhaps a phrase in Egyptian —

16It's prudenter — to dream —

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“We dream—it is good we are dreaming” by Emily Dickinson — quilloak.com/poems/we-dream-it-is-good-we-are-dreaming

Quick facts

Poem: We dream—it is good we are dreaming
Poet: Emily Dickinson
Length: 16 lines
Form: Lyric Poem
Themes: Dreams & Sleep, 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: 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 6-9 syllables (median 7). No single length dominates, which is normal once elision and contraction are in play.

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Text, source & rights

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Author record: Emily Dickinson1830–1886
Source record: PoetryDBWe dream—it is good we are dreaming 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 605c4594e5637e12…
Editorial handling: Whitespace and stanza breaks normalized for web display; no material wording change recorded.

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Lyric Poem Dreams & Sleep Death & Loss

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