Taking off Emily Dickinson's clothes.

Role	Type	Name
Author	n/a	Billy Collins

First, her tippet made of tulle,

easily lifted off her shoulders and laid

on the back of a wooden chair.

And her bonnet,

the bow undone with a light forward pull.

Then the long white dress, a more

complicated matter with mother-of-pearl

buttons down the back,

so tiny and numerous that it takes forever

before my hands can part the fabric,

like a swimmer's dividing water,

and slip inside.

You will want to know

that she was standing

by...

[This journal article is 377 words long]

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