Emily Dickinson

A brief, but patient illness –

Summary


"A brief, but patient illness" is a short poem by Emily Dickinson that turns a death into a small woodland funeral. A swift illness passes, and by morning a beloved girl is among the angels. The procession is brief, a Bobolink stands by, and an aged Bee addresses the mourners before they kneel. The speaker's quiet plea to follow Summer, Sister and Seraph balances grief against tenderness.

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A brief, but patient illness –
An hour to prepare –
And one below, this morning
Is where the angels are –
It was a short procession –
The Bobolink was there –
An aged Bee addressed us –
And then we knelt in prayer –
We trust that she was willing –
We ask that we may be –
Summer – Sister – Seraph!
Let us go with thee!
In the name of the Bee –
And of the Butterfly –
And of the Breeze – Amen!

Watercolor of an aged bee addressing a bobolink and mourners in a meadow, from Emily Dickinson's "A brief, but patient illness".
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Credits

Emily Dickinson was a reclusive American poet of the 19th century, known for her compressed lines and her dashes. Here she gives a nature-bound funeral the feel of a church service, with a Bee as the preacher and the Breeze closing the prayer.