"The soul selects her own society" - Emily Dickinson

Emily Dickinson (1830–86). Complete Poems. 1924.

Part One: Life XIII

THE SOUL selects her own society,
Then shuts the door;
On her divine majority
Obtrude no more.
Unmoved, she notes the chariot’s pausing	5
At her low gate;
Unmoved, an emperor is kneeling
Upon her mat.
I ’ve known her from an ample nation
Choose one;	10
Then close the valves of her attention
Like stone.