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He Ate and Drank the Precious Words
Emily Dickinson · 1890
Catalog grade guidance: 6–12 — Short lyric; Todd/Higginson text of the three early series.
10 content lines · 49 words · Est. recitation about 30 sec (approx.)
Public-domain text for reading and recitation practice. Source: Project Gutenberg eBook #12242, Poems by Emily Dickinson, Three Series, Complete.Estimated time uses ~120 words/minute plus short pauses—not a contest rule.
XXI. A BOOK. He ate and drank the precious words, His spirit grew robust; He knew no more that he was poor, Nor that his frame was dust. He danced along the dingy days, And this bequest of wings Was but a book. What liberty A loosened spirit brings!