BY THE SEA
a poem by Emily Dickinson
I started early, took my dog
And visited the sea
The mermaids in the basement
Came out to look at me
And frigates in the upper floor
Extended hempen hands
Presuming me to be a mouse
Aground, upon the sands
But no man moved me till the tide
Went past my simple shoe
And past my apron and my belt
And past my bodice too
And made as he would eat me up
As wholly as a dew
Upon a dandelion's sleeve
And then I started too
And he - he followed close behind
I felt his silver heel
Upon my ankle, - then my shoes
Would overflow with pearl
Until we met the solid town
No man he seemed to know
And bowing with a mighty look
At me, the sea withdrew
***** In this poem, the poet takes a walk on the beach and imagines what it would be to a mermaid. She ventures into the incoming tide...
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