Literary artists manipulate language. If educators could develop in their students the same sense that language is manipulable, they could help them to better appreciate literature. Emily Dickinson's poem "I Like to See It Lap the Miles" could be approached by changing it on several levels--graphics, phonics, syntax, and semantics--and seeing how each of these manipulations affects the meaning of the poem. Although this technique does not produce any sort of scientific proof, it does impress upon students the fact that language can be manipulated, and that successful manipulation is not so easy. (Three versions of the poem are included.) (JL)