1I started Early – Took my Dog –
2And visited the Sea –
3The Mermaids in the Basement
4Came out to look at me –
5And Frigates – in the Upper Floor
6Extended Hempen Hands –
7Presuming Me to be a Mouse –
8Aground – opon the Sands –
9But no Man moved Me – till the Tide
10Went past my simple Shoe –
11And past my Apron – and my Belt
12And past my Boddice – too –
13And made as He would eat me up –
14As wholly as a Dew
15Opon a Dandelion's Sleeve –
16And then – I started – too –
17And He – He followed – close behind –
18I felt His Silver Heel
19Opon my Ancle – Then My Shoes
20Would overflow with Pearl –
21Until We met the Solid Town –
22No One He seemed to know –
23And bowing – with a Mighty look –
24At me – The Sea withdrew –
1I started Early – Took my Dog –
2And visited the Sea –
3The Mermaids in the Basement
4Came out to look at me –
5And Frigates – in the Upper Floor
6Extended Hempen Hands –
7Presuming Me to be a Mouse –
8Aground – opon the Sands –
9But no Man moved Me – till the Tide
10Went past my simple Shoe –
11And past my Apron – and my Belt
12And past my Boddice – too –
13And made as He would eat me up –
14As wholly as a Dew
15Opon a Dandelion's Sleeve –
16And then – I started – too –
17And He – He followed – close behind –
18I felt His Silver Heel
19Opon my Ancle – Then My Shoes
20Would overflow with Pearl –
21Until We met the Solid Town –
22No One He seemed to know –
23And bowing – with a Mighty look –
24At me – The Sea withdrew –
I started Early – Took my Dog –
And visited the Sea –
The Mermaids in the Basement
Came out to look at me –
And Frigates – in the Upper Floor
Extended Hempen Hands –
Presuming Me to be a Mouse –
Aground – opon the Sands –
But no Man moved Me – till the Tide
Went past my simple Shoe –
And past my Apron – and my Belt
And past my Boddice – too –
And made as He would eat me up –
As wholly as a Dew
Opon a Dandelion's Sleeve –
And then – I started – too –
And He – He followed – close behind –
I felt His Silver Heel
Opon my Ancle – Then My Shoes
Would overflow with Pearl –
Until We met the Solid Town –
No One He seemed to know –
And bowing – with a Mighty look –
At me – The Sea withdrew –
Select any word below to get its definition in the context of the poem. The words are listed in the order in which they appear in the poem.
The Poem Out Loud — Listen to a reading of the poem.
Dickinson's Dog — Dickinson may or may not be the speaker of "I started Early – Took my Dog," but she did have a dog named Carlo, whom you can read about here!
The Original Manuscript — Take a look at the handwritten manuscript of the poem.
The Poet's Life — Read more about Emily Dickinson's work and life in this brief biographical overview.
Meter in Dickinson's Poetry — If you're looking for more information about how Emily Dickinson used meter in her poetry, check out this helpful overview.