Swelling of the ground

We paused before a house that seemed

Swelling of the ground;

The roof was scarcely visible,

The cornice but a mound

These lines are from the poem "Because I Could Not Stop for Death" by Emily Dickinson. In this stanza, the speaker and Death have stopped in front of a house that appears to be swelling off the ground.

The description of the house as a "swelling of the ground" suggests that it has become a part of the earth, perhaps implying that it has been abandoned or forgotten.

The house is described as having a barely visible roof and a cornice that is only a mound, suggesting that it is in a state of disrepair or decay. This image of a neglected and forgotten house serves as a metaphor for the passing of time and the inevitability of mortality.

The poem as a whole explores the speaker's acceptance of death as a natural and inevitable part of the human experience, and this image reinforces the idea that everything must eventually return to the earth.