(10 December 1830 – 15 May 1886 / Amherst / Massachusetts)

poet Emily Dickinson
#4 on top 500 poets
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( 179 votes )
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A Bird Came Down

A bird came down the walk:
He did not know I saw;
He bit an angle-worm in halves
And ate the fellow, raw.

And then he drank a dew
From a convenient grass,
And then hopped sidewise to the wall
To let a beetle pass.

He glanced with rapid eyes
That hurried all abroad,--
They looked like frightened beads, I thought;
He stirred his velvet head

Like one in danger; cautious,
I offered him a crumb,
And he unrolled his feathers
And rowed him softer home

Than oars divide the ocean,
Too silver for a seam,
Or butterflies, off banks of noon,
Leap, splashless, as they swim.

Submitted: Monday, May 14, 2001


Read poems about / on: ocean, silver, home, butterfly, swimming

Comments about this poem (A Bird Came Down by Emily Dickinson )

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  • Shanice Morrison (1/9/2013 12:31:00 PM)

    Aw, this is a really nice poem! It is not particularly sweet, or romantic, or funny... just a nice simple poem about an everyday ocurance! Love it!

    6 person liked.
    		8 person did not like.
  • Jac Harper (12/26/2012 2:25:00 AM)

    I love this poem. We have birds coming down around our house and this poem expresses the experience vividly.

    4 person liked.
    		10 person did not like.
  • Srimayee Ganguly (12/16/2012 6:29:00 AM)

    She petted a little birdie. Wouldn't it be loverly?
    Lots of crumbs for it to eat...........!

    8 person liked.
    		11 person did not like.
  • Lyssa L'Orange (7/29/2011 11:10:00 AM)

    Emily Dickinson is lovely.

    28 person liked.
    		18 person did not like.
  • Rebecca Bell (8/16/2010 5:46:00 PM)

    I enjoy this poem. Emily Dickinson was the best poet.

    23 person liked.
    		21 person did not like.
  • Lindemberg Pereira (1/21/2010 10:45:00 AM)

    Emily is great! ! ! A very nice, sweet and beautiful poem.She describes very well that small image in her eyes.

    23 person liked.
    		21 person did not like.
  • Annabel Lee (12/20/2009 5:19:00 PM)

    Thus Emily, dear o' Emily, who shall thy be blessed for thy was a youngster, to I from thy bottom of thy heart, was dreadfully lost, lokcked up, wonderously, writting with thy passion of thy hands.........
    IN OTHER WORDS, IT ROCKS! ! ! ! !

    26 person liked.
    		21 person did not like.
  • Adam Sobh (4/10/2009 11:52:00 AM)

    I'm doing a project on Emily Dickinson for my 11th grade American Literature class, and i need to find a poem by Miss Emily Dickinson and then analyze it, i chose this poem, but i don't really understand it, so if anybody could please explain it to me and help me to better understand it, i would be extremely grateful.

    24 person liked.
    		23 person did not like.
  • Sangnam Nam (12/8/2008 6:25:00 PM)

    Was it you wo did fly and rowed the ocean for home?

    17 person liked.
    		23 person did not like.
  • Jim Foulk (2/27/2007 10:59:00 PM)

    Emily Dickinson was the greatest poet to ever live. This is just one of her many great ones. it is to bad that the world had to wait until she died to find out how great of a poet she was.

    21 person liked.
    		19 person did not like.
Read all 13 comments »

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