Poetry Explorer- Classic Contemporary Poetry, THE MIDDLETOWN MURDER, by ROBERT FROST


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Classic and Contemporary Poetry

THE MIDDLETOWN MURDER, by                 Poet Analysis     Poet's Biography
First Line: Jack hitched up into his sky blue bob
Last Line: As much as singingthat bad was good
Subject(s): Murder


Jack hitched into his sky blue bob
^ And drove away to the lumber job.
A week was what he had aimed to stay.
And here he was back inside of a day.
Kate came to the door to ask him why.
"To give you another kiss goodbye."
The gun he took to the woods for meat
Came out from under his blanket seat.
Kate tried to laugh at him. "You go long.
And don't be silly. Is something wrong?"
They stood and looked at each other hard,
Kate plainly blocking the door on guard.
Suddenly Jack began to shout:
"I know who's in there. So come on out!"
If someone extra was there with Kate.
He wasn't to be brought out by hate.
(Some people are best brought out by love.
The others you have to drag or shove.)
Then suddenly something frightened Jack,
And sent him shouting around in back.
"Hey, no you don't you goddam snide.
None of your tricks on me," he cried.
Kate cut across the house inside.
Leaving the door of the kitchen wide.
Now three of them choked the door emerging;
You couldn't tell which was pulling or urging.
"In a killer's choice like this of three,
There's some can't tell which it should be;
But I'll soon show you it won't be me..
"You have been my friend; you have eaten my salt;
But this was eating my sugar, Walt.
"The joke's on me for trusting a whore.
Wouldn't it make a rifle roar?
"To pro-long life and humor Kate
I'll give you a start as far as the gate."
He looked at a button along his gun,
But kept from shooting and told him, "Run!'
The first shot fired was over Walt's head.
He still was running; he wasn't dead.
The second shot went by one arm,
The third by the other, and did no harm.
The fourth, and next to the last, was low.
Walt felt it under him ploughing snow.
He thought, "I'm running in luck to-day,
I'm getting away-I'm getting away."
Just what to Jack would be meat and drink
To have the galloping bastard think.
All four misses were only art.
The fifth shot fired went through the heart.
The fifth was the bullet that stained his shirt.
And dove him into the snow and dirt.
We call that "bounding a man all round
Before locating his principal town."
"Now, back to your keeping house," Jack said.
"I guess you'd better go make the bed.
"No first you'd better put up your hair.
After thats' done we'll see what's fair."
He pulled her in and shut the door.
And wouldn't let her look out any more.
Kate didn't know what the law would say
To a man for killing a man that way.
She hated to be the death of two.
But what was a woman going to do?
Be ready for when the sheriff came.
And say Jack wasn't the one to blame?
The least you could always do was lie
To hurry the day of trouble by;
And it wouldn't be long before you were glad
Of the worst young day you ever had,
It was so much better than any old.
But my, the sheriff would probably scold.
All the sheriff said was, "Cousin Kate,
You're the prettiest black haired girl in the state.'
(The township numbered a couple of dozen.
And most of them called each other cousin.)
"I suppose you were born to have your fun.
But in doing to these two what you've done,
"If you wanted to get the good one jailed,
The bad one murdered, you haven't failed.
"I'll do it as gently as I can.
But cousin, I've come to take your man.
"Let it be a lesson to you for life:
Next time you marry, be a wife."
Someone lying stiff in the road
Like a cordwood stick from a farmer's load.
And over him like a frightened dunce
A guide post pointed all ways at once.
No curious crowd had gathered yet,
But a rural letter-box choir quartette
That stood in drift at the crossroads corner.
They had human names like Stark and Warner.
But more like ghouls than men they stood,
As much as singing that bad was good.





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