THERE'S BEEN A DEATH IN THE OPPOSITE HOUSE by EMILY DICKINSON

There's been a Death, in the Opposite House,
As lately as Today -
I know it, by the numb look
Such Houses have - alway -

The Neighbors rustle in and out -
The Doctor - drives away -
A Window opens like a Pod -
Abrupt - mechanically -

Somebody flings a Mattress out -
The Children hurry by -
They wonder if it died - on that -
I used to - when a Boy -

The Minister - goes stiffly in -
As if the House were His -
And He owned all the Mourners - now -
And little Boys - besides -

And then the Milliner - and the Man
Of the Appalling Trade -
To take the measure of the House -

There'll be that Dark Parade -

Of Tassels - and of Coaches - soon -
It's easy as a Sign -
The Intuition of the News -
In just a Country Town

Classic and Contemporary Poetry

Discover our Poem Explanations and Poet Analyses!

Other Poems of Interest...