Poetry Wednesday--Emily Dickinson

This poem by Emily Dickinson shows how death comes whether or not we take the time to prepare for it. Ever the gentleman, Death makes sure to stop by even when we have lost track of the time.

The cliche of having your life "pass before your eyes" at the moment of death seems true here, too. Dickinson passes by children at recess, "or rather," she corrects herself, "he passed us."

The last thing they pass is "a house that seemed a swelling of the ground"--I think, a freshly dug grave.

The last stanza lets us know that the speaker has, indeed, been dead for "centuries".