Emily Dickinson

After all Birds have been investigated and laid aside—

Summary


In "After all Birds have been investigated and laid aside," Emily Dickinson turns to the little bluebird as nature's most faithful voice. This short poem follows the bird's song as it rises above life's changes, arrives first in March to challenge the wind, and stays on after summer has slipped away. Its panting note comforts like a friend, and the closing image of loyalty lingers well after the final line.

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After all Birds have been investigated and laid aside—
Nature imparts the little Blue-Bird—assured
Her conscientious Voice will soar unmoved
Above ostensible Vicissitude.

A bluebird sings on a bare branch against the March wind, illustrating Emily Dickinson's poem After all Birds have been investigated.

First at the March—competing with the Wind—
Her panting note exalts us—like a friend—
Last to adhere when Summer cleaves away—
Elegy of Integrity.

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Credits

Emily Dickinson was a reclusive 19th-century American poet from Amherst, Massachusetts, whose compact, dash-filled verse reshaped poetry. Most of her work was published only after her death, and this poem's closing phrase, "Elegy of Integrity," gives the bluebird a moral dignity.