A Something in a Summer’s Day
poem 122
A Something in a Summer’s Day - context Summary
Composed 1859, Published 1890
This lyric was written in 1859 and first published posthumously in 1890 in Poems by Emily Dickinson, Second Series. It captures recurring Dickinsonal concerns—brief, intense perception and private spiritual response—framed as seasonal moments across day, noon, night and morning. The poem’s publication decades after composition placed it in the late-19th-century reception that shaped Dickinson’s reputation as a compact, enigmatic poet. Readers encountering it historically should note its original mid‑century composition and later public presentation, which affected how editors and audiences interpreted her spare, elliptical lines.
Read Complete AnalysesA something in a summer’s Day As slow her flambeaux burn away Which solemnizes me. A something in a summer’s noon A depth an Azure a perfume Transcending ecstasy. And still within a summer’s night A something so transporting bright I clap my hands to see Then veil my too inspecting face Lets such a subtle shimmering grace Flutter too far for me The wizard fingers never rest The purple brook within the breast Still chafes it narrow bed Still rears the East her amber Flag Guides still the sun along the Crag His Caravan of Red So looking on the night the morn Conclude the wonder gay And I meet, coming thro’ the dews Another summer’s Day!
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