No Rack Can Torture Me, by Emily Dickinson

Emily Dickinson

No Rack Can Torture Me

384

No Rack can torture me—

My Soul—at Liberty—

Behind this mortal Bone

There knits a bolder One—

You cannot prick with saw—

Nor pierce with Scimitar—

Two Bodies—therefore be—

Bind One—The Other fly—

The Eagle of his Nest

No easier divest—

And gain the Sky

Than mayest Thou—

Except Thyself may be

Thine Enemy—

Captivity is Consciousness—

So’s Liberty.

#Americans #Women #XIXCentury

Enjoyed this read? Treat us to a coffee!.
Your help allows us to exist.

Liked or faved by...

Other works by Emily Dickinson...

It Did Not Surprise Me

39 It did not surprise me— So I said—or thought— She will stir her pinions And the nest forgot,

Where Ships of Purple—gently toss

265 Where Ships of Purple—gently toss… On Seas of Daffodil— Fantastic Sailors—mingle— And then—the Wharf is still!

Life LIX. I took my power in my hand

LIX I TOOK my power in my hand And went against the world; ’T was not so much as David had, But I was twice as bold.

The Robin’s my Criterion for Tune

285 The Robin’s my Criterion for Tun… Because I grow—where Robins do— But, were I Cuckoo born— I’d swear by him—

Wait Till the Majesty of Death

171 Wait till the Majesty of Death Invests so mean a brow! Almost a powdered Footman Might dare to touch it now!

The Bee Is Not Afraid of Me

111 The Bee is not afraid of me. I know the Butterfly. The pretty people in the Woods Receive me cordially—

This was a Poet (448)

This was a Poet —It is That Distills amazing sense From ordinary Meanings — And Attar so immense From the familiar species

The Butterfly in Honored Dust

The Butterfly in honored Dust Assuredly will lie But none will pass the Catacomb So chastened as the Fly -

Bird

A bird came down the walk: He did not know I saw; He bit an angle-worm in halves And ate the fellow, raw. And then he drank a dew

Bless God, He Went as Soldiers

147 Bless God, he went as soldiers, His musket on his breast— Grant God, he charge the bravest Of all the martial blest!

High From the Earth I Heard a Bird

High from the earth I heard a bir… He trod upon the trees As he esteemed them trifles, And then he spied a breeze, And situated softly

Ourselves Were Wed One Summer dear

631 Ourselves were wed one summer—dear… Your Vision—was in June— And when Your little Lifetime fai… I wearied—too—of mine—

It Sifts From Leaden Sieves

311 It sifts from Leaden Sieves— It powders all the Wood. It fills with Alabaster Wool The Wrinkles of the Road—

Life IX. the heart asks pleasure first (536)

IX THE heart asks pleasure first, And then, excuse from pain; And then, those little anodynes That deaden suffering;

I’m ceded—I’ve stopped being Theirs—

508 I’m ceded—I’ve stopped being Thei… The name They dropped upon my fac… With water, in the country church Is finished using, now,

Emily Dickinson