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Poem: “Going to Heaven!”

Going to Heaven!

I don’t know when-
Pray do not ask me how!
Indeed I’m too astonished
To think of answering you!
Going to Heaven!
How dim it sounds!
And yet it will be done
As sure as flocks go home at night
Unto the Shepherd’s arm!

Perhaps you’re going too!
Who knows?
If you should get there first
Save just a little space for me
Close to the two I lost-
The smallest “Robe” will fit me
And just a bit of “Crown”-
For you know we do not mind our dress
When we are going home-

I’m glad I don’t believe it
For it would stop my breath-
And I’d like to look a little more
At such a curious Earth!
I’m glad they did believe it
Whom I have never found
Since the might Autumn afternoon
I left them in the ground.

Emily Dickinson


Emily Dickinson was born in Amherst, Massachusetts in 1830. Her father was a lawyer and treasurer of the local college. He also served in Congress. Emily had a distant relationship with her mother who suffered from depression. Around 1850 Emily began to compose her first poems. Her initial poetic style was conventional though later she began to experiment with different styles. Her poems dealt with various issues such as nature, faith, and death. Emily died in 1886.