Emily Dickinson

Emily Dickinson scares the snot out of me. I am not a poet, and I am not one to read poetry. One of the poems that we read though, The Bustle in the House, struck a special chord with me. For those who don't remember it, here it is again...
The Bustle in a House
The Morning after Death
Is solemnest of industries
Enacted opon Earth –
The Sweeping up the Heart
And putting Love away
We shall not want to use again
Until Eternity –

This poem holds very special meaning to me because I understand what Emily is talking about 100 percent. Between my Sophomore and Senior years of high school, four of my family members died. I was only able to attend two funerals. After the second death, the death of my grandpa Rocky, there was bustle in my grandma Rama's house. The family cleaned her small house out and as it was being done, Grandma sat on the couch in a state of shock and desperation. All of the clutter we cleaned were her memories of her and Grandpa. we were sweeping up her heart. And in turn, she swept up her broken heart and put it away. She no longer has the life in her eyes and the sarcasm that she once had. she does not smile the same way, and she does not hug the same way. My Grandma put her love away, and I know that she has put it away for my Grandpa, and will not retrieve it again in this life. She tries to be happy, and there are moments when she is, but it is different. Emily Dickinson's poem rang clear and true for my life, and I think that it might be the poem I have best understood in all poetry I have read. So, no matter how much Emily Dickinson scares me, I have a great appreciation for her and her work now.