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A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z

Browse alphabetically through more than 9,000 words in Dickinson’s poetry, as defined in the Emily Dickinson Lexicon, based in part on her dictionary, Webster's 1844 American Dictionary of the English Language.

Houghton Library - (30b, c) For every Bird a nest -, J143, Fr86; "They have not chosen me" - he said - J85, Fr87

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Credits: Houghton Library, Harvard University, Cambridge, MA
Dickinson, Emily, 1830-1886. Poems: Packet VII, Fascicle 4. Includes 16 poems, written in ink, dated ca. 1859.
Houghton Library - (30b, c) For every Bird a nest -, J143, Fr86; "They have not chosen me" - he said - J85, Fr87
Publication History
FP (1929), 79, from A, with stanza 4 omitted. Bingham, New England Quarterly, 20 (March 1947), 32-33, entire, from a transcript of A (a tr307). Poems (1955), 102-3; CP (1960), 67-68. MB (1981), 67-68, in facsimile. (J143). Franklin Variorum 1998 (F86A).
Letters (1894), 217, from the copy to Mary Bowles (A); also LL (1924), 255; and Letters (1931), 204. Poems (1955), 69 (A principal, B summarized); CP (1960), 43-44 (A). MB (1981), 68 (B), in facsimile. (J85). Franklin Variorum 1998 (F87B).
-History from Franklin Variorum 1998

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Imported: 2013-10-21 12:59:49 -0400
Order: 12
Order Label: (30b, c) For every Bird a nest -, J143, Fr86; "They have not chosen me" - he said - J85, Fr87
Label: (30b, c) For every Bird a nest -, J143, Fr86; "They have not chosen me" - he said - J85, Fr87
Filename: ms_am_1118_3_30_0004

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F86A - For every bird a nest

For every Bird a nest -
Wherefore in timid quest
Some little Wren goes seeking round -

Wherefore when boughs are free,
Households in every tree,
Pilgrim be found?

Perhaps a home too high -
Ah aristocracy!
The little Wren desires -

Perhaps of twig so fine -
Of twine e'en superfine,
Her pride aspires -

The Lark is not ashamed
To build opon the ground
Her modest house -

Yet who of all the throng
Dancing around the sun
Does so rejoice?

About Work

First Line/Title: For every bird a nest
Date: 1859
Edition: Franklin Variorum 1998
Number: F86A
Textual Notes: Division
15 house - ||

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Manuscript: About summer 1859, in Fascicle 4 (h 30). This poem may have been longer in earlier drafts, for ed left space in the fascicle for two additional stanzas before beginning, on the same page, the next poem.
Fascicle: 4 - 11
Notes: About summer 1859, in Fascicle 4 (h30). This poem may have been longer in earlier drafts, for ed left space in the fascicle for two additional stanzas before beginning, on the same page, the next poem.
Textual Notes: Division
15 house - ||
Publications: FP (1929), 79, from A, with stanza 4 omitted. Bingham, New England Quarterly, 20 (March 1947), 32-33, entire, from a transcript of A (a tr307). Poems (1955), 102-3; CP (1960), 67-68. MB (1981), 67-68, in facsimile. (J143)

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F87B - "They have not chosen me" - he said

"They have not chosen me" - he said -
"But I have chosen them"!
Brave - Broken hearted statement -
Uttered in Bethleem!

I could not have told it,
But since Jesus dared,
Sovreign, know a Daisy
Thy dishonor shared!

About Work

First Line/Title: "They have not chosen me" - he said
Date: 1859
Edition: Franklin Variorum 1998
Number: F87B
Textual Notes: 5 not have] written have not and marked for transposition

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Manuscript: Two fair copies, about summer 1859. ed sent one to Mary Bowles, signed "Emily" and addressed (in pencil) "Mrs Bowles" (a 652).
Fascicle: 4 - 12
Notes: A copy is in Fascicle 4 (h30).
Textual Notes: 5 not have] written have not and marked for transposition
Publications: Letters (1894), 217, from the copy to Mary Bowles (A); also LL (1924), 255; and Letters (1931), 204. Poems (1955), 69 (A principal, B summarized); CP (1960), 43-44 (A). MB (1981), 68 (B), in facsimile. (J85)

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Related Works in This Edition

F87A - "They have not chosen me" - he said

The Poems of Emily Dickinson, Variorum Edition, Franklin, 1998

Related Works in Other Editions

J143 - For every Bird a Nest --

The Poems of Emily Dickinson, Johnson, 1955

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Houghton Library - (30b, c) For every Bird a nest -, J143, Fr86; "They have not chosen me" - he said - J85, Fr87

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F86A - For every bird a nest

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F87B - "They have not chosen me" - he said

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