Couplet

"In this short Life that only lasts an hour" by Emily Dickinson
 
In this short Life that only lasts an hour
How much - how little - is within our power
 
Emily Elizabeth Dickinson was born in Amherst, Massachusetts, on December 10, 1830 to
Edward and Emily (Norcross) Dickinson. Dickinson began writing as a teenager. Her early
influences include Leonard Humphrey, principal of Amherst Academy, and a family friend
named Benjamin Franklin Newton. Newton introduced Dickinson to the poetry of William
Wordsworth, who also served as an inspiration to the young writer. Dickinson died of kidney
disease in Amherst, Massachusetts, on May 15, 1886.
 
A unit of verse consisting of two successive lines, usually rhyming and having the same
meter and often forming a complete thought or syntactic unit. In this case Dickinson used
two lines that rhyme. The two words that make this is a couplet are "hour and power".

I think the meaning of this poem is that you should live life how you want it to be. It is too
short for you to sit back and do nothing with it. You have control over your life no one else
does, so do as you please within reason and as long as it is legal.

 
I chose a photo of a hourglass because you have a certain amount of time to live your life. It can be cut short at anytime so you have to do things that make you happy before dying.