The bat is dun, with wrinkled wings Like fallow article, And not a song pervades his lips, Or none perceptible.
His small umbrella, quaintly halved, Describing in the air An arc alike inscrutable,— Elate philosopher!
Deputed from what firmament Of what astute abode, Empowered with what malevolence Auspiciously withheld.
To his adroit Creator Ascribe no less the praise; Beneficent, believe me, His eccentricities.
Emily Dickinson (1830–1886) was a prolific American poet who wrote frequently on death and eternity. She wrote this poem in 1878.
