23 BECAUSE I COULD NOT STOP FOR DEATH
By Emily Dickinson
BECAUSE I could not stop for Death，
He kindly stopped for me；
The carriage held but just ourselves
And Immortality．
We slowly drove，he knew no haste，
And I had put away
My labor，and my leisure too，
For his civility．
We passed the school where children played
At wrestling in a ring；
We passed the fields of gazing grain，
We passed the setting sun．
We paused before a house that seemed
A swelling of the ground；
The roof was scarcely visible，
The cornice but a mound．
Since then 't is centuries；but each
Feels shorter than the day
I first surmised the horses’ heads
Were toward eternity．
