Emily Dickinson

He Was Weak, and I Was Strong Then

poem 190

He Was Weak, and I Was Strong Then - meaning Summary

Shifting Power in Companionship

This short lyric traces a relationship of alternating authority and dependence. At first one partner leads, then the roles reverse as they return home together. The tone is calm and accepting: neither dominance nor submission is total, and mutual care matters more than control. In the final stanza their balance falters; both struggle but fail to reassert dominance, suggesting equality, vulnerability, and the difficulty of sustaining power dynamics in intimate bonds.

Read Complete Analyses

He was weak, and I was strong then So He let me lead him in I was weak, and He was strong then So I let him lead me Home. ‘Twasn’t far the door was near ‘Twasn’t dark for He went too ‘Twasn’t loud, for He said nought That was all I cared to know. Day knocked and we must part Neither was strongest now He strove and I strove too We didn’t do it tho’!

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