A Barefoot Boy
James Whitcomb Riley 1849 (Greenfield) – 1916 (Indianapolis)
A barefoot boy! I mark him at his play --
For May is here once more, and so is he, --
His dusty trousers, rolled half to the knee,
And his bare ankles grimy, too, as they:
Cross-hatchings of the nettle, in array
Of feverish stripes, hint vividly to me
Of woody pathways winding endlessly
Along the creek, where even yesterday
He plunged his shrinking body -- gasped and shook --
Yet called the water 'warm,' with never lack
Of joy. And so, half enviously I look
Upon this graceless barefoot and his track, --
His toe stubbed -- ay, his big toe-nail knocked back
Like unto the clasp of an old pocketbook.
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Submitted on May 13, 2011
Modified on March 05, 2023
- 34 sec read
- 192 Views
Quick analysis:
Scheme | ABBAABBACDCDDC |
---|---|
Closest metre | Iambic pentameter |
Characters | 611 |
Words | 116 |
Stanzas | 1 |
Stanza Lengths | 14 |
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"A Barefoot Boy" Poetry.com. STANDS4 LLC, 2024. Web. 8 Jun 2024. <https://www.poetry.com/poem/20753/a-barefoot-boy>.
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