Snow by Any Other Name

Have you ever tried to write a poem about a specific subject without ever once using its name? That’s what Emily Dickinson did in “It sifts from Leaden Sieves.” The “it” in the title and throughout the poem is snow, but that word never appears. Instead, the poem describes snow through its actions and its effects. Here are the words.

It sifts from Leaden Sieves

It sifts from Leaden Sieves –

It powders all the Wood.

It fills with Alabaster Wool

The Wrinkles in the Road –

It makes an Even Face

Of Mountain, and of Plain –

Unbroken Forehead from the East

Unto the East again –

It reaches to the Fence –

It wraps it Rail by Rail

Till it is lost in Fleeces –

It deals Celestial Vail

To Stump, and Stack – and Stem –

A Summer’s empty Room –

Acres of Joints, where Harvests were,

Recordless, but for them –

It Ruffles Wrists of Posts

As Ankles of a Queen –

Then stills its Artisans – like Ghosts –

Denying they have been –

Here’s a challenge. Try writing your own poem describing a tangible object without naming the subject.

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The picture at the head of this post is a Currier and Ives print titled “Winter in the Country. The Old Grist Mill.” The two-color lithograph was created in 1864 based on a painting by George H. Durrie. It is in the public domain because of its age.

“It sifts from Leaden Sieves” was published after Emily Dickinson’s death, first appearing in a volume called Poems (1891). The poem is in the public domain because of its age.