Emily Dickinson

Unreturning

Summary


"Unreturning" is a short Emily Dickinson poem about a little boat that toddles out across the bay, drawn away by a gallant, beckoning sea. In just eight lines, a small vessel meets a greedy wave, and the speaker is left to reckon with what the water has taken. Playful rhythm and tender mourning sit side by side, and the sea turns from inviting to hungry before the final lines settle in.

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TWAS such a little, little boat
That toddled down the bay!
‘T was such a gallant, gallant sea
That beckoned it away!

‘T was such a greedy, greedy wave
That licked it from the coast;
Nor ever guessed the stately sails
My little craft was lost!

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Credits

Emily Dickinson was a 19th-century American poet from Amherst, Massachusetts, famed for her compact, dash-filled verse, most of which was published only after her death. Here she uses the sea and a tiny boat as an image of loss, a theme that runs throughout her work.