Zsa Zsa
16 July 2021
​Because I could not stop for Death
​Emily Dickinson - 1830 - 1886

Because I could not stop for Death -
He kindly stopped for me -
The Carriage held but just Ourselves - 
And Immortality.

We slowly drove - He knew no haste
And I had put away
My labor and my leisure too,
For His Civility -

We passed the School, where Children strove
At Recess - in the Ring -
We passed the Fields of Gazing Grain -
We passed the Setting Sun -

Or rather - He passed us -
The Dews drew quivering and chill -
For only Gossamer, my Gown -
My Tippet - only Tulle -

We passed before a House that seemed
A Swelling of the Ground -
The Roof was scarcely visible -
The Cornice - in the Ground -

Since then - 'tis Centuries - and yet
Feels shorter than the Day
I first surmised the Horses' Heads
​Were toward Eternity -

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Music by Elam Sprenkle
Elaine Bonazzi, Mezzo-Soprano
​Annapolis Brass Quintet