Who, till they died, did not alive become;
Who, had they lived, had died, but when
They died, vitality begun." - Meaning and context.">
Time and Eternity, p. 204

A death-blow is a life-blow to some
Who, till they died, did not alive become;
Who, had they lived, had died, but when
They died, vitality begun.

— Emily Dickinson

What It Means

This is a placeholder explanation generated by the low-overhead model. It interprets "A death-blow is a life-blow to some
Who, till they died, did not alive become;
Who, had they lived, had died, but when
They died, vitality begun." in the context of "Time and Eternity, p. 204" to mean that wisdom is timeless.

Source: Wikiquote: "Emily Dickinson" (Quotes, Collected Poems (1993): Fall River Press edition ) The 'What it means' explanation text was generated by Google Gemini Flash (accessed January 18, 2026). https://gemini.google.com/app
Emily Dickinson

About Emily Dickinson

Emily Elizabeth Dickinson (December 10, 1830 – May 15, 1886) was an American poet. Virtually unknown in her lifetime, Dickinson has come to be regarded as one of the greatest American poets of the 19th century. Although she wrote (at latest count) 1789 poems, only a few of them were published in her lifetime, all anonymously, and some perhaps without her knowledge.