Emily Dickinson
Death
Death is like the insect
   Menacing the tree,
Competent to kill it,
   But decoyed may be.

Bait it with the balsam,
   Seek it with the knife,
Baffle, if it cost you
   Everything in life.

Then, if it have burrowed
   Out of reach of skill,
Ring the tree and leave it, —
   'T is the vermin's will.