She dealt her pretty words like Blades —
How glittering they shone —
And every One unbared a Nerve
Or wantoned with a Bone —

She never deemed — she hurt —
That — is not Steel’s Affair —
A vulgar grimace in the Flesh —
How ill the Creatures bear —

To Ache is human — not polite —
The Film upon the eye
Mortality’s old Custom —
Just locking up — to Die.

Analysis, meaning and summary of Emily Dickinson's poem She dealt her pretty words like Blades

1 Comment

  1. victoria says:

    I think by what she means it that words can have a sharp meaning when you say them, or that they can come out sharp.

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