We never know how high we are     Till we are called to rise;   And then, if we are true to plan,     Our statures touch the skies—       The Heroism we recite   Would be a daily thing,   Did not ourselves the Cubits warp     For fear to be a King—

This poem appeared in Poem-A-Day on April 20, 2013. Browse the Poem-A-Day archive.

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Poems by This Author

A Bird came down the Walk (328) by Emily Dickinson A Bird came down the Walk A Drop fell on the Apple Tree (794) by Emily Dickinson A Drop fell on the Apple Tree A lane of Yellow led the eye (1650) by Emily Dickinson A lane of Yellow led the eye A Man may make a Remark (952) by Emily Dickinson A Man may make a Remark Because I could not stop for Death (712) by Emily Dickinson Because I could not stop for Death-- Besides the Autumn poets sing (131) by Emily Dickinson Besides the Autumn poets sing Color - Caste - Denomination - (970) by Emily Dickinson Color - Caste - Denomination Come Slowly—Eden (211) by Emily Dickinson Come slowly—Eden Dear March - Come in - (1320) by Emily Dickinson Dear March - Come in - Fame is a fickle food (1659) by Emily Dickinson Fame is a fickle food Hope is the thing with feathers (254) by Emily Dickinson Hope is the thing with feathers I cannot live with You (640) by Emily Dickinson I cannot live with You-- I felt a Funeral, in my Brain (280) by Emily Dickinson I felt a Funeral, in my Brain, I heard a Fly buzz (465) by Emily Dickinson I heard a Fly buzz--when I died-- I like to see it lap the Miles (43) by Emily Dickinson I like to see it lap the Miles I measure every Grief I meet (561) by Emily Dickinson I measure every Grief I meet I taste a liquor never brewed (214) by Emily Dickinson I taste a liquor never brewed-- I tie my Hat—I crease my Shawl (443) by Emily Dickinson I tie my Hat—I crease my Shawl— I'm Nobody! Who are you? (260) by Emily Dickinson I'm Nobody! Who are you? It sifts from Leaden Sieves - (311) by Emily Dickinson It sifts from Leaden Sieves It was not Death, for I stood up (510) by Emily Dickinson It was not Death, for I stood up It's all I have to bring today (26) by Emily Dickinson It's all I have to bring today Knows how to forget! (433) by Emily Dickinson Knows how to forget Like Brooms of Steel (1252) by Emily Dickinson Luck is not chance (1350) by Emily Dickinson Luck is not chance My life closed twice before its close (96) by Emily Dickinson My life closed twice before its close One day is there of the series by Emily Dickinson One day is there of the series One Sister have I in our house (14) by Emily Dickinson Safe in their Alabaster Chambers (216) by Emily Dickinson Safe in their Alabaster Chambers— The Outlet (162) by Emily Dickinson My river runs to thee The Savior must have been a docile Gentleman (1487) by Emily Dickinson The Savior must have been The Soul selects her own Society (303) by Emily Dickinson The Soul selects her own Society— The Soul unto itself (683) by Emily Dickinson The Soul unto itself There is no frigate like a book (1263) by Emily Dickinson There is no frigate like a book (1263) There's a certain Slant of light (258) by Emily Dickinson There's a certain Slant of light, To make a prairie (1755) by Emily Dickinson To make a prairie it takes a clover and one bee, Two Butterflies went out at Noon— (533) by Emily Dickinson Two Butterflies went out at Noon Wild Nights – Wild Nights! (249) by Emily Dickinson Wild Nights! - Wild Nights! Winter is good - his Hoar Delights (1316) by Emily Dickinson Winter is good - his Hoar Delights

Further Reading

Poems for Kids Antigonish [I met a man who wasn't there] by Hughes Mearns At the Zoo by William Makepeace Thackeray Be Glad Your Nose is on Your Face by Jack Prelutsky Bleezer's Ice Cream by Jack Prelutsky Clouds by Christina Rossetti Dream Variations by Langston Hughes Eletelephony by Laura Elizabeth Richards Fishmonger by Marsden Hartley I felt a Funeral, in my Brain (280) by Emily Dickinson Jabberwocky by Lewis Carroll maggie and milly and molly and may by E. E. Cummings Mary's Lamb by Sarah Josepha Hale Mother Doesn't Want a Dog by Judith Viorst Mr. Grumpledump's Song by Shel Silverstein My Shadow by Robert Louis Stevenson Nonsense Alphabet by Edward Lear Sick by Shel Silverstein Since Hannah Moved Away by Judith Viorst The Crocodile by Lewis Carroll The Duel by Eugene Field The Eagle by Lord Alfred Tennyson The Good Moolly Cow [excerpt] by Eliza Lee Follen The Land of Counterpane by Robert Louis Stevenson The Purple Cow by Gelett Burgess The Raven by Edgar Allan Poe The Tyger by William Blake Wynken, Blynken, and Nod by Eugene Field