What soft, cherubic creatures
Emily Dickinson · 1896
Public domain
From Poems by Emily Dickinson, published in 1896. The text is free of copyright in the United States. This copy is the poem, without the Project Gutenberg header.
What soft, cherubic creatures
These gentlewomen are!
One would as soon assault a plush
Or violate a star.
Such dimity convictions,
A horror so refined
Of freckled human nature,
Of Deity ashamed, --
It's such a common glory,
A fisherman's degree!
Redemption, brittle lady,
Be so, ashamed of thee.