Nature is what we see, The Hill, the Afternoon— Squirrel, Eclipse,…

Nature is what we see, The Hill, the Afternoon— Squirrel, Eclipse, the Bumble-bee, Nay—Nature is Heaven. Nature is what we hear, The Bobolink, the Sea— Thunder, the Cricket— Nay,—Nature is Harmony. Nature is what we know But have no art to say, So impotent our wisdom is To Her simplicity.

Emily Dickinson1830–1886 · poet · 1800s USAEmily Dickinson wrote nearly 1,800 poems in Amherst, Massachusetts, in short lines full of dashes that made ordinary words feel startling and new.47 quotes

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What turned up: “Nature is what we see,” The Complete Poems of Emily Dickinson (1924), Nature XXXIV; Read entire twelve-line poem and linked edition index identifying1924 Little,Brown edition. Uses this edition’s “But” and punctuation/capitalization, rather than combining with later editorial versions. Public-domai
Work: “Nature is what we see,” The Complete Poems of Emily Dickinson (1924), Nature XXXIV
Sources checked: en.wikisource.orgChecked using manual, 20 October 2026“Nature is what we see,” The Complete Poems of Emily Dickinson (1924), Nature XXXIV; Read entire twelve-line poem and linked edition index identifying1924 Little,Brown edition. Uses this edition’s “But” and punctuation/capitalization, rather than combining with later editorial versions. Public-domai