Lyric Poem · Love

Whatever it is—she has tried it

by Emily Dickinson

Whatever it is — she has tried it —

Awful Father of Love —

Is not Ours the chastising —

Do not chastise the Dove —

Not for Ourselves, petition —

Nothing is left to pray —

When a subject is finished —

Words are handed away —

Only lest she be lonely

In thy beautiful House

Give her for her Transgression

License to think of us —

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“Whatever it is—she has tried it” by Emily Dickinson — quilloak.com/poems/whatever-it-is-she-has-tried-it

Quick facts

Poem: Whatever it is—she has tried it
Poet: Emily Dickinson
Length: 12 lines
Form: Lyric Poem
Themes: Love, Peace

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: 12 lines · 3 quatrains
Line length: Lines run 6-8 syllables (median 7). 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: PoetryDBWhatever it is—she has tried it 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 bb2932283f693fc7…
Editorial handling: Whitespace and stanza breaks normalized for web display; no material wording change recorded.

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Lyric Poem Love Peace

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