Emily Dickinson

The bustle in a house

Summary


"The Bustle in a House" is a short poem by Emily Dickinson that captures the eerie, purposeful stillness that follows a death. In just eight lines, Dickinson transforms the mundane act of morning housework into a profound meditation on grief — the sweeping, the tidying, the careful putting away of love itself. The poem's quiet power lies in its restraint: mourning is not loud here, but industrious, solemn, and deeply human, with love stored away until eternity.

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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.

Credits

This poem was written by Emily Dickinson, the 19th-century American poet widely regarded as one of the most original voices in English-language literature. Writing in near-total seclusion in Amherst, Massachusetts, Dickinson produced nearly 1,800 poems, most published only after her death in 1886. "The Bustle in a House" is believed to have been composed around 1866 and reflects her characteristic use of slant rhyme and domestic imagery to explore mortality.

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