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The Bustle in a House
Emily Dickinson · 1890
Catalog grade guidance: 8–12 — Short lyric; Todd/Higginson text of the three early series.
9 content lines · 35 words · Est. recitation about 23 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.
XXII. The bustle in a house The morning after death Is solemnest of industries Enacted upon earth, -- The sweeping up the heart, And putting love away We shall not want to use again Until eternity.