Literature Network » Emily Dickinson » Poems, Series 2 » LI. I gained it so

LI. I gained it so

I gained it so,
        By climbing slow,
By catching at the twigs that grow
Between the bliss and me.
        It hung so high,
        As well the sky
        Attempt by strategy.

I said I gained it, --
        This was all.
Look, how I clutch it,
        Lest it fall,
And I a pauper go;
Unfitted by an instant's grace
For the contented beggar's face
I wore an hour ago.

Literature Network » Emily Dickinson » Poems, Series 2 » LI. I gained it so