Lyric Poem · Hope

When I hoped, I recollect

by Emily Dickinson

Just the place I stood —

At a Window facing West —

Roughest Air — was good —

Not a Sleet could bite me —

Not a frost could cool —

Hope it was that kept me warm —

Not Merino shawl —

When I feared — I recollect

Just the Day it was —

Worlds were lying out to Sun —

Yet how Nature froze —

Icicles upon my soul

Prickled Blue and Cool —

Bird went praising everywhere —

Only Me — was still —

And the Day that I despaired —

This — if I forget

Nature will — that it be Night

After Sun has set —

Darkness intersect her face —

And put out her eye —

Nature hesitate — before

Memory and I —

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“When I hoped, I recollect” by Emily Dickinson — quilloak.com/poems/when-i-hoped-i-recollect

Quick facts

Poem: When I hoped, I recollect
Poet: Emily Dickinson
Length: 24 lines
Form: Lyric Poem
Themes: Hope, Nature, Winter

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 · 5 stanzas of 4–8 lines
Line length: Lines run 5-7 syllables (median 6), consistent with trimeter. 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: PoetryDBWhen I hoped, I recollect 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 f2132f4f961d01e8…
Editorial handling: Whitespace and stanza breaks normalized for web display; no material wording change recorded.

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Lyric Poem Hope Nature Winter

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