Taking Off Emily Dickinson's Clothes Poem Rhyme Scheme and Analysis
Rhyme Scheme: ABC DA EAFGHGI JKLIJME NOPGQRR STKURRV RWXRY AZD DRRA2B2C2| First her tippet made of tulle | A |
| easily lifted off her shoulders and laid | B |
| on the back of a wooden chair | C |
| - | |
| And her bonnet | D |
| the bow undone with a light forward pull | A |
| - | |
| Then the long white dress a more | E |
| complicated matter with mother of pearl | A |
| buttons down the back | F |
| so tiny and numerous that it takes forever | G |
| before my hands can part the fabric | H |
| like a swimmer's dividing water | G |
| and slip inside | I |
| - | |
| You will want to know | J |
| that she was standing | K |
| by an open window in an upstairs bedroom | L |
| motionless a little wide eyed | I |
| looking out at the orchard below | J |
| the white dress puddled at her feet | M |
| on the wide board hardwood floor | E |
| - | |
| The complexity of women's undergarments | N |
| in nineteenth century America | O |
| is not to be waved off | P |
| and I proceeded like a polar explorer | G |
| through clips clasps and moorings | Q |
| catches straps and whalebone stays | R |
| sailing toward the iceberg of her nakedness | R |
| - | |
| Later I wrote in a notebook | S |
| it was like riding a swan into the night | T |
| but of course I cannot tell you everything | K |
| the way she closed her eyes to the orchard | U |
| how her hair tumbled free of its pins | R |
| how there were sudden dashes | R |
| whenever we spoke | V |
| - | |
| What I can tell you is | R |
| it was terribly quiet in Amherst | W |
| that Sabbath afternoon | X |
| nothing but a carriage passing the house | R |
| a fly buzzing in a windowpane | Y |
| - | |
| So I could plainly hear her inhale | A |
| when I undid the very top | Z |
| hook and eye fastener of her corset | D |
| - | |
| and I could hear her sigh when finally it was unloosed | D |
| the way some readers sigh when they realize | R |
| that Hope has feathers | R |
| that reason is a plank | A2 |
| that life is a loaded gun | B2 |
| that looks right at you with a yellow eye | C2 |
Billy Collins
(1)
Poem topics: , Print This Poem , Rhyme Scheme
Submit Spanish Translation
Submit German Translation
Submit French Translation
About Taking Off Emily Dickinson's Clothes
Taking Off Emily Dickinson's Clothes is a poem by Billy Collins. This page includes the poem text, poet information, related topics, comments, and similar poems.
Write your comment about Taking Off Emily Dickinson's Clothes poem by Billy Collins
Best Poems of Billy Collins