Classic and Contemporary Poetry
THAT GENTLE MAN FROM BOSTON; AN IDYL OF OREGON, by CINCINNATUS HEINE MILLER Poet Analysis Poet's Biography First Line: Two noble brothers loved a fair Last Line: "the guirl, this morning married me." Alternate Author Name(s): Miller, Joaquin Variant Title(s): That Gentle Man From Boston Town Subject(s): Oregon | ||||||||
Two noble brothers loved a fair Young lady, rich and good to see; And oh, her black abundant hair! And oh, her wondrous witchery! Her father kept a cattle farm, These brothers kept her safe from harm: From harm of cattle on the hill; From thick-necked bulls loud bellowing The livelong morning, long and shrill, And lashing sides like anything! From roaring bulls that tossed the sand And pawed the lilies of the land. There came a third young man. He came From far and famous Boston town. He was not handsome, was not "game," But he could "cook a goose" as brown As any man that set foot on The mist kissed shores of Oregon. This Boston man he taught the school, Taught gentleness and love alway, Said love and kindness, as a rule, Would ultimately "make it pay." He was so gentle, kind, that he Could make a noun and verb agree. So when one day these brothers grew All jealous and did strip to fight, He gently stood between the two And meekly told them't was not right. "I have a higher, better plan," Outspake this gentle Boston man. "My plan is this: Forget this fray About that lily hand of hers; Go take your guns and hunt all day High up yon lofty hill of firs, And while you hunt, my ruffled doves, Why, I will learn which one she loves." The brothers sat the windy hill, Their hair shone yellow, like spun gold, Their rifles crossed their laps, but still They sat and sighed and shook with cold. Their hearts lay bleeding far below; Above them gleamed white peaks of snow. Their hounds lay crouching slim and neat, A spotted circle in the grass. The valley lay beneath their feet; They heard the wide-winged eagles pass. Two eagles cleft the clouds above; Yet what could they but sigh and love? "If I could die," the elder sighed, "My dear young brother here might wed." "Oh, would to heaven I had died!" The younger sighed with bended head. Then each looked each full in the face And each sprang up and stood in place. "If I could die" -- the elder spake, "Die by your hand, the world would say 'Twas accident --; and for her sake, Dear brother, be it so, I pray." "Not that!" the younger nobly said; Then tossed his gun and turned his head. And fifty paces back he paced! And as he paced he drew the ball; Then sudden stopped and wheeled and faced His brother to the death and fall! Two shots rang wild upon the air! But lo! the two stood harmless there! Two eagles poised high in the air; Far, far below the bellowing Of bullocks ceased, and everywhere Vast silence sat all questioning. Thespotted hounds rancircling round, Their red, wet noses to the ground. And now each brother came to know That each had drawn the deadly ball; And for that fair girl far below Had sought in vain to silent fall. And then the two did gladly "shake," And thus the elder gravely spake: "Now let us run right hastily And tell the kind schoolmaster all! Yea! yea! and if she choose not me, But all on you her favors fall, This valiant scene, till all life ends, Dear brother, binds us best of friends. The hounds sped down, a spotted line, The bulls in tall abundant grass Shook back their horns from bloom and vine, And trumpeted to see them pass -- They loved so good, they loved so true, These brothers scarce knew what to do. They sought the kind schoolmaster out As swift as sweeps the light of morn -- They could but love, they could not doubt This man so gentle, "in a horn," They cried: "Now whose the lily hand -- That lady's of this emer'ld land?" They bowed before that big-nosed man, That long-nosed man from Boston town; They talked as only lovers can, They talked, but he would only frown And still they talked and still they plead; It was as pleading with the dead. At last this Boston man did speak -- "Her father has a thousand ceows, An hundred bulls, all fat and sleek; He also had this ample heouse." The brothers' eyes stuck out thereat So far you might have hung your hat. "I liked the looks of this big heouse -- My lovely boys, won't you come in? Her father had a thousand ceows -- He also had a heap o'tin. The guirl? Oh yes, the guirl, you see -- The guirl, this morning married me." | Discover our Poem Explanations and Poet Analyses!Other Poems of Interest...DRIVING INTO LARAMIE by JAMES GALVIN BILL'S BEANS; FOR WILLIAM STAFFORD by NAOMI SHIHAB NYE EXODUS FOR OREGON by CINCINNATUS HEINE MILLER FOUR POEMS FOR ROBIN: SIWASHING IT OUT .. IN SISULAW FOREST by GARY SNYDER ON THE OREGON TRAIL by CHARLES BADGER CLARK JR. AN OREGON DAWN by WILLIAM STEWARD GORDON AUTUMN ON THE UMPQUA by WILLIAM STEWARD GORDON HARVEST IN UMATILLA by WILLIAM STEWARD GORDON A CALIFORNIA CHRISTMAS by CINCINNATUS HEINE MILLER |
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