Emily Dickinson

Why?

Summary


"Why?" is a short poem in which a speaker tries to explain the inexplicable pull of nature. A humming bee, a red glow on the hillside and the first light of morning each overwhelm the speaker's will. When strangers ask for reasons, the answers turn from near-silence to a warning, then to a challenge. Dickinson compresses awe, defiance and mystery into three tight stanzas, each ending with a quiet refusal to explain.

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THE murmur of a bee
A witchcraft yieldeth me.
If any ask me why,
‘T were easier to die
Than tell.

The red upon the hill
Taketh away my will;
If anybody sneer,
Take care, for God is here,
That’s all.

The breaking of the day
Addeth to my degree;
If any ask me how,
Artist, who drew me so,
Must tell!

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Credits

Emily Dickinson was a reclusive 19th-century American poet whose compact, dash-filled verse was largely unpublished during her lifetime. This poem shows her signature habit of ending each stanza with a short, abrupt line that closes the thought like a door.