Emily Dickinson

When I Count the Seeds

poem 40

When I Count the Seeds - meaning Summary

Faith Over Earthly Rewards

The poem expresses quiet acceptance of present loss because of trust in future, unseen reward. The speaker counts seeds and buried people as investments that will bloom or be exalted later. Belief that the mortal "garden" need not experience the harvest allows the speaker to forgo immediate pleasures without regret. It frames patience and faith as moral choices that make present sacrifice bearable in anticipation of later blessings.

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When I count the seeds That are sown beneath, To bloom so, bye and bye When I con the people Lain so low, To be received as high When I believe the garden Mortal shall not see Pick by faith its blossom And avoid its Bee, I can spare this summer, unreluctantly.

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