Emily Dickinson

Before He Comes We Weigh the Time!

poem 834

Before He comes we weigh the Time! ‘Tis Heavy and ’tis Light. When He depart, an Emptiness Is the prevailing Freight.

time loss lyric poem austere
Before He Comes We Weigh the Time! - poem by - Emily Dickinson

Before He Comes We Weigh the Time! - meaning Summary

Anticipation and Ensuing Emptiness

The poem considers the experience of waiting for a significant person whose imminent arrival makes time feel alternately heavy and light. Anticipation distorts perception: moments are measured, laden with expectation, until the person leaves. After departure, the dominant feeling is an emptiness that overrides earlier contrasts. The brief lyric compresses a cycle of hope and loss, showing how presence and absence reshape how time is felt.

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