There's A Certain Slant Of Light

There's a certain slant of light,


On winter afternoons,

That oppresses, like the weight

Of cathedral tunes.



Heavenly hurt it gives us;

We can find no scar,

But internal difference

Where the meanings are.



None may teach it anything,

'Tis the seal, despair,-

An imperial affliction

Sent us of the air.



When it comes, the landscape listens,

Shadows hold their breath;

When it goes, 't is like the distance

On the look of death.





~Emily Dickenson