--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: To wait an Hour—is long— If Love be just…" description: "\"“To wait an Hour—is long— If Love be just beyond— To wait Eternity—is short— If Love reward the end—”\" — Emily Dickinson" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/29d/emily-dickinson-310_love_to-wait-an-hour-is-long-if-love-be-just_1312045.jpg" --- # To wait an Hour—is long— If Love be just beyond— To wait… ![“To wait an Hour—is long— If Love be just beyond— To wait Eternity—is short— If Love reward the end—” quote by Emily Dickinson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/29d/emily-dickinson-310_love_to-wait-an-hour-is-long-if-love-be-just_1312045.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/29d/emily-dickinson-310_love_to-wait-an-hour-is-long-if-love-be-just_1312045.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/29d/emily-dickinson-310_love_to-wait-an-hour-is-long-if-love-be-just_1312045.jpg) > ““To wait an Hour—is long— If Love be just beyond— To wait Eternity—is short— If Love reward the end—”” [Emily Dickinson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emily-dickinson/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Love feels both fleeting and eternal; waiting seems endless when love is near, yet brief when love is distant, highlighting love’s paradoxical perception of time. **In simple terms:** Love warps perception of time. Key Takeaway Cherish moments, not just duration. Themes love time paradox Mood contemplative melancholic Type lyetic reflective When to use this quote - relationships - personal reflection - creative writing Key Concepts philosophical poetry Questions to Reflect On - How does love change your sense of urgency? - What does “waiting eternity” mean to you? ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Eternity](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/eternity/) [Love](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/love/) ## Related quotes > [Think not thy time short in this world, since the world itself is not long. The created world is but a small parenthesis in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-browne/think-not-thy-time-short-in-this-world-since-the-world-itself-is-not/) [Thomas Browne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-browne/) > [“Perhaps you and I aren't meant to be together in this lifetime. Maybe we're suppose to wait for eternity.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/denise-grover-swank/perhaps-you-and-i-aren-t-meant-to-be-together-in-this-lifetime-maybe/) [Denise Grover Swank](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/denise-grover-swank/) > [Through all eternity to thee, a joyful song I'll raise; for oh! Eternity's too short to utter all thy praise.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-addison/through-all-eternity-to-thee-a-joyful-song-i-ll-raise-for-oh-eternity/) [Joseph Addison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-addison/) > [“Time was the invention of men who would confine the ocean and bottle the wind. Eternity is too short to fulfill the promise of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kassandra-sims/time-was-the-invention-of-men-who-would-confine-the-ocean-and-bottle/) Kassandra Sims > [Mortality is, in reality, a very, very short period. It is literally a snap of the fingers compared to an eternity. It is so…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hartman-rector-jr/mortality-is-in-reality-a-very-very-short-period-it-is-literally-a/) [Hartman Rector, Jr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hartman-rector-jr/) > [Even so does he who provides for the short time of this life, but takes no care for all eternity; which is to be…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-tillotson/even-so-does-he-who-provides-for-the-short-time-of-this-life-but/) [John Tillotson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-tillotson/) > [If I had to, I would wait for an eternity to be with you.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/azgraybebly-josland/if-i-had-to-i-would-wait-for-an-eternity-to-be-with-you/) Azgraybebly Josland > [Remember that I will be here', he said resolutely. 'For an eternity (...). I would wait for you for an eternity.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/remember-that-i-will-be-here-he-said-resolutely-for-an-eternity-i/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [“Sorry I kept you waiting so long.” His smile brought one to her face. “I don’t mind. I’d wait an eternity for you.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/roxanne-kade/sorry-i-kept-you-waiting-so-long-his-smile-brought-one-to-her-face-i/) [Roxanne Kade](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/roxanne-kade/) > [“If I told her how I feel, she'd miss me even more. Afterall, I'm the guy who keeps breaking her heart by making her…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gosho-aoyama/if-i-told-her-how-i-feel-she-d-miss-me-even-more-afterall-i-m-the-guy/) [Gosho Aoyama](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gosho-aoyama/) > [Forget the threat of Hell's infernal flames. The true torture would condemn a man to wait and wait and wait - for an eternity](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sharon-kay-penman/forget-the-threat-of-hell-s-infernal-flames-the-true-torture-would/) [Sharon Kay Penman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sharon-kay-penman/) > [If I'm not back in five minutes ... just wait longer.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nikhil-saluja/if-i-m-not-back-in-five-minutes-just-wait-longer/) [Nikhil Saluja](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nikhil-saluja/) > [Just you wait, all your hard work will pay off and happy won't even begin to describe it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/just-you-wait-all-your-hard-work-will-pay-off-and-happy-won-t-even/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [You just wait. I'm going to be the biggest Chinese Star in the world.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bruce-lee/you-just-wait-i-m-going-to-be-the-biggest-chinese-star-in-the-world/) [Bruce Lee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bruce-lee/) > [Just wait for the day we both come to our senses :)](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nishan-panwar/just-wait-for-the-day-we-both-come-to-our-senses/) [Nishan Panwar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nishan-panwar/) ## More by Emily Dickinson > [A Light exists in Spring Not present on the Year At any other period - When March is scarcely here A Color stands abroad…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emily-dickinson/a-light-exists-in-spring-not-present-on-the-year-at-any-other-period/) [Emily Dickinson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emily-dickinson/) > [I could not prove the Years had feet-/Yet confident they run.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emily-dickinson/i-could-not-prove-the-years-had-feet-yet-confident-they-run/) [Emily Dickinson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emily-dickinson/) > [How softly summer shuts, without the creaking of a door.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emily-dickinson/how-softly-summer-shuts-without-the-creaking-of-a-door/) [Emily Dickinson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emily-dickinson/) > [“Could you tell me how to grow--or is it unconveyed--like Melody--or Witchcraft?”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emily-dickinson/could-you-tell-me-how-to-grow-or-is-it-unconveyed-like-melody-or/) [Emily Dickinson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emily-dickinson/) > [It might be lonelier Without the Loneliness - I’m so accustomed to my Fate - Perhaps the Other - Peace - Would interrupt the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emily-dickinson/it-might-be-lonelier-without-the-loneliness-i-m-so-accustomed-to-my/) [Emily Dickinson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emily-dickinson/) > [“Inebriate of Air — am I — And Debauchee of Dew — Reeling — thro endless summer days — From Inns of Molten Blue —”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emily-dickinson/inebriate-of-air-am-i-and-debauchee-of-dew-reeling-thro-endless/) [Emily Dickinson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emily-dickinson/) > [Luck is not chance, it's toil; fortune's expensive smile is earned.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emily-dickinson/luck-is-not-chance-it-s-toil-fortune-s-expensive-smile-is-earned/) [Emily Dickinson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emily-dickinson/) > [The abdication of Belief Makes the Behavior small- Better an ignis fatuus Than no illume at all.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emily-dickinson/the-abdication-of-belief-makes-the-behavior-small-better-an-ignis/) [Emily Dickinson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emily-dickinson/) > [Longing is like a seed that wrestles in the ground](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emily-dickinson/longing-is-like-a-seed-that-wrestles-in-the-ground/) [Emily Dickinson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emily-dickinson/) > [“He ate and drank the precious words, His spirit grew robust; He knew no more that he was poor, Nor that his frame was…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emily-dickinson/he-ate-and-drank-the-precious-words-his-spirit-grew-robust-he-knew-no/) [Emily Dickinson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emily-dickinson/) > [I SEE thee better in the dark, I do not need a light. The love of thee a prism be Excelling violet. I see…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emily-dickinson/i-see-thee-better-in-the-dark-i-do-not-need-a-light-the-love-of-thee/) [Emily Dickinson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emily-dickinson/) > [One step at a time is all it takes to get you there.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emily-dickinson/one-step-at-a-time-is-all-it-takes-to-get-you-there/) [Emily Dickinson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emily-dickinson/) > [“Whose fingers string the stalactite- Who counts the Wampum of the night”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emily-dickinson/whose-fingers-string-the-stalactite-who-counts-the-wampum-of-the-night/) [Emily Dickinson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emily-dickinson/) > [My life closed twice before its close](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emily-dickinson/my-life-closed-twice-before-its-close/) [Emily Dickinson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emily-dickinson/) > [Until you have loved, you cannot become yourself.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emily-dickinson/until-you-have-loved-you-cannot-become-yourself/) [Emily Dickinson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emily-dickinson/) [Explore all 692 Emily Dickinson quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emily-dickinson/) ## More Eternity quotes > [“I believe in forever, and that’s what you and I are. We define eternity. This may sound cheesy, but you make me go there.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gail-mchugh/i-believe-in-forever-and-that-s-what-you-and-i-are-we-define-eternity/) [Gail McHugh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gail-mchugh/) > [“Please not yet. Those are the three eternal words. Please not yet.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-d-macdonald/please-not-yet-those-are-the-three-eternal-words-please-not-yet/) [John D. MacDonald](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-d-macdonald/) > [Peace is the first thing the angels sang. Peace is the mark of the children of God. Peace is the nurse of love. Peace…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pope-leo-i/peace-is-the-first-thing-the-angels-sang-peace-is-the-mark-of-the/) [Pope Leo I](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pope-leo-i/) > [There are two kinds of beauty; there is a beauty which God gives at birth, and which withers as a flower. And there is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/abraham-kuyper/there-are-two-kinds-of-beauty-there-is-a-beauty-which-god-gives-at/) [Abraham Kuyper](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/abraham-kuyper/) > [If I have a system it is limited to a recognition of what Kierkegaard called 'the infinite qualitative distinction' between time and eternity](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/karl-barth/if-i-have-a-system-it-is-limited-to-a-recognition-of-what-kierkegaard/) [Karl Barth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/karl-barth/) > [Only alone can you go into eternity. Only alone can you feel the transcendental light. It is not a shared experience because if it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frederick-lenz/only-alone-can-you-go-into-eternity-only-alone-can-you-feel-the/) [Frederick Lenz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frederick-lenz/) > [The religion of art, like the religion of politics, was born from the ruins of Christianity. Art inherited from the old religion the power…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/octavio-paz/the-religion-of-art-like-the-religion-of-politics-was-born-from-the/) [Octavio Paz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/octavio-paz/) > [I think we all have a core that's ecstatic, that knows and that looks up in wonder. We all know that there are marvelous…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/coleman-barks/i-think-we-all-have-a-core-that-s-ecstatic-that-knows-and-that-looks/) [Coleman Barks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/coleman-barks/) > [One of our great allies at present is the Church itself. Do not misunderstand me. I do not mean the Church as we see…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/c-s-lewis/one-of-our-great-allies-at-present-is-the-church-itself-do-not/) [C. S. Lewis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/c-s-lewis/) > [Heaven? Floating about with everyone you ever knew for eternity? Me family does me 'ed in after one day at xmas, I'd rather be…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/karl-pilkington/heaven-floating-about-with-everyone-you-ever-knew-for-eternity-me/) [Karl Pilkington](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/karl-pilkington/) > [What does the future, that half of time, matter to the man who is infatuated with eternity?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emile-m-cioran/what-does-the-future-that-half-of-time-matter-to-the-man-who-is/) [Emile M. Cioran](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emile-m-cioran/) > [You and I are both life. There's just the experience of every moment. We like to call them moments. There isn't really such a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frederick-lenz/you-and-i-are-both-life-there-s-just-the-experience-of-every-moment/) [Frederick Lenz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frederick-lenz/) > [You've decided to love me for eternity, I'm still deciding who I want to be today.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ani-difranco/you-ve-decided-to-love-me-for-eternity-i-m-still-deciding-who-i-want/) [Ani DiFranco](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ani-difranco/) > [You may have some friends that come and go, but having a friend like God will last forever.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alyssa-tillmon/you-may-have-some-friends-that-come-and-go-but-having-a-friend-like/) [Alyssa Tillmon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alyssa-tillmon/) > [There, in the center of that silence was not eternity but the death of time and a loneliness so profound the word itself had…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/toni-morrison/there-in-the-center-of-that-silence-was-not-eternity-but-the-death-of/) [Toni Morrison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/toni-morrison/) [Browse all 3,482 Eternity quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/eternity/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“To wait an Hour—is long— If Love be just beyond— To wait Eternity—is short— If Love reward the end—”", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Emily Dickinson" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emily-dickinson/to-wait-an-hour-is-long-if-love-be-just-beyond-to-wait-eternity-is/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Eternity" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emily-dickinson/to-wait-an-hour-is-long-if-love-be-just-beyond-to-wait-eternity-is/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/29d/emily-dickinson-310_love_to-wait-an-hour-is-long-if-love-be-just_1312045.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/29d/emily-dickinson-310_love_to-wait-an-hour-is-long-if-love-be-just_1312045.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/29d/emily-dickinson-310_love_to-wait-an-hour-is-long-if-love-be-just_1312045.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“To wait an Hour—is long— If Love be just beyond— To wait Eternity—is short— If Love reward the end—” — Emily Dickinson", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } }, { "@type": "BreadcrumbList", "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "name": "Home", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 2, "name": "Quotes", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 3, "name": "Emily Dickinson", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emily-dickinson/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "“To wait an Hour—is long— If...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emily-dickinson/to-wait-an-hour-is-long-if-love-be-just-beyond-to-wait-eternity-is/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emily-dickinson/to-wait-an-hour-is-long-if-love-be-just-beyond-to-wait-eternity-is/#breadcrumb" }, { "@type": "WebSite", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "publisher": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } }, { "@type": "Organization", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "logo": { "@type": "ImageObject", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png", "width": 512, "height": 512 } } ] } ```