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．