To Lose Thee

To Lose Thee - context Summary

Published Posthumously, 1890

This short lyric presents an intense, singular attachment: the speaker values losing the beloved more than gaining other affections, framing that preference as a paradoxical consolation. A Caspian sea metaphor contrasts sterility and abundance to underline the poem’s claim that absence can still possess meaning. The poem appeared in the 1890 collection Poems by Emily Dickinson, published after her death and shaping early public reception of her work.