28. “I know a place where summer strives.” Part Two: Nature. Dickinson, Emily. 1924. Complete Poems

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Emily Dickinson (1830–86). Complete Poems. 1924.

Part Two: Nature

XXVIII

I KNOW a place where summer strives
With such a practised frost,
She each year leads her daisies back,
Recording briefly, “Lost.”

But when the south wind stirs the pools	5
And struggles in the lanes,
Her heart misgives her for her vow,
And she pours soft refrains

Into the lap of adamant,
And spices, and the dew,	10
That stiffens quietly to quartz,
Upon her amber shoe.