Lick The Valleys Up

"I like to see it lap the Miles"

I like to see it lap the Miles —

And lick the Valleys up —

And stop to feed itself at Tanks —

And then — prodigious step

These lines are from a poem by Emily Dickinson titled "I like to see it lap the Miles." The poem describes a train moving through the landscape and the awe-inspiring power and energy it embodies.

The lines you have quoted suggest that the speaker takes pleasure in watching the train move swiftly and effortlessly through the landscape, "lapping" up the miles as it goes.

The phrase "And lick the Valleys up" suggests that the train seems to consume the landscape around it as if it is a powerful force of nature. The final line of the excerpt, "And then - prodigious step," suggests that the train's movement is so powerful and impressive that it is almost beyond human comprehension.

The poem can be interpreted as a celebration of the power of technology and the human ability to harness and control the forces of nature. It is also a meditation on the beauty and wonder of the natural world and how technology can help us appreciate and understand it more deeply.

N E X T

Around a Pile of Mountains —

And supercilious peer

In Shanties — by the sides of Roads —

And then a Quarry pare