There's a certain slant of light / Emily Dickinson

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, 'tis like the distance
On the look of death.

~~
Emily Dickinson (1830-1886)
from Poems, 1890-1896

[Poem is in the public domain worldwide]

Emily Dickinson biography