Emily Dickinson

Except to heaven, she is nought

Summary

This poem reflects on the often overlooked presence and value of seemingly insignificant elements in nature. It uses a metaphor of a small flower, unnoticed by most but essential to certain creatures like bees and butterflies. The poem highlights how this small, solitary existence is essential in its ecosystem, not drawing attention until it is absent. In its absence, those who depended on it realize its importance, akin to a familiar yet overlooked face that provides the comfort of home. It encourages readers, particularly children, to appreciate and recognize the hidden worth in even the smallest and most ordinary parts of the natural world and their surroundings.

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Expect to heaven, she is nought;
Except for angels, lone;
Except to some wide-wandering bee,
A flower superfluous blown;

Except for winds, provincial;
Except by butterflies,
Unnoticed as a single dew
That on the acre lies.

The smallest housewife in the grass,
Yet take her from the lawn,
And somebody has lost the face
That made existence home!

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