狄金森(Emily Dickinson) (1830-1886)，20歲開始寫詩，早期的詩大都已散失，留下詩稿 1,775首。她的詩在形式上富於獨創性，大多使用17世紀英國宗教聖歌作者艾薩克·沃茨的傳統格律形式，但又作了許多變化，例如在詩句中使用許多短破折號，既可代替標點，又使正常的抑揚格音步節奏產生突兀的起伏跳動。她作為現代詩的先驅者得到美國現代詩的熱烈歡迎，對她的研究成了美國現代文學批評中的熱門。
If You Were Coming in the Fall
如果你在秋天到來
Emily Dickinson
If you were coming in the fall,
如果你在秋天到來，
I’d brush the summer by
我將輕拂夏日而過
With half a smile, and half a spurn,
半帶微笑，半帶棄絕，
As Housewives do, a Fly.
如家庭主婦把蒼蠅撲捉。
If I could see you in a year,
如果能在一年之中將你盼來，
I’d wind the months in balls—
我將把月份纏繞成一個個紗球—
And put them each in separate Drawers,
把它們分開，各自放進抽屜，
For fear the numbers fuse—
以免這些數字熔合，不再分開—
If only Centuries, delayed,
如果只是延至數個世紀，
I’d count them on my hand,
我願搬弄手指度日數數，
Subtracting, till my fingers dropped
逐日遞減，直到手指全部掉入
Into Van Dieman’s Land.
塔斯馬尼亞島嶼的土地。
If certain, When this life was out—
如果確定無疑，當今生度完—
That your’s and mine, should be
它應屬於你和我，
I’d toss it yonder, like a Rind,
我願把它，像果殼，扔向遙遠，
And take Eternity—
去到來生把你贏得—
But, now, uncertain of the length
而目前，日期遙遙，
Of this, that is between,
等待無期，天各一方，
It goads me, like the Goblin Bee—
像妖蜂，使我傷痛不已—
That will not state-it’s sting
無法訴説—如刺如燎。
詞彙助攻：
spurn n./v. 鄙視
reject with contempt
fuse v. 融合
mix together
yonder adv. 在遠處
distant but within sight
goad v. 刺激
stab or urge on as if with a pointed stick
sting n./v. 刺痛，蟄
a kind of pain,something as sudden and painful as being stung