I Cannot Live Without You
by Emily Dickinson

I cannot live with You β It would be Life β And Life is over there β Behind the Shelf The Sexton keeps the Key to β Putting up Our Life β His Porcelain β Like a Cup β Discarded of the Housewife β Quaint β or Broke β A newer Sevres pleases β Old Ones crack β I could not die β with You β For One must wait To shut the Otherβs Gaze down β You β could not β And I β could I stand by And see You β freeze β Without my Right of Frost β Deathβs privilege? Nor could I rise β with You β Because Your Face Would put out Jesusβ β That New Grace Glow plain β and foreign On my homesick Eye β Except that You than He Shone closer by β Theyβd judge Us β How β For You β served Heaven β You know, Or sought to β I could not β Because You saturated Sight β And I had no more Eyes For sordid excellence As Paradise And were You lost, I would be β Though My Name Rang loudest On the Heavenly fame β And were You β saved β And I β condemned to be Where You were not β That self β were Hell to Me β So We must meet apart β You there β I β here β With just the Door ajar That Oceans are β and Prayer β And that White Sustenance β Despair β
This poem is featured in our selection of 100 Great Poems.
Crowd Score: 8.6
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