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It sifts from leaden sieves

Emily Dickinson · 1890–1896

Catalog grade guidance: 3–5 — Short Dickinson lyric; punctuation/dashes may need a brief teacher note.

8 content lines · 39 words · Est. recitation about 23 sec (approx.)

Public-domain text for reading and recitation practice. Source: Project Gutenberg Dickinson series hosted as poems-of-emily-dickinson.Estimated time uses ~120 words/minute plus short pauses—not a contest rule.

It sifts from leaden sieves,
It powders all the wood,
It fills with alabaster wool
The wrinkles of the road.

It makes an even face
Of mountain and of plain, --
Unbroken forehead from the east
Unto the east again.