Poetry Explorer- Classic Contemporary Poetry, COME BY CHANCE, by HARRIET PLIMPTON


Poetry Explorer

Classic and Contemporary Poetry

COME BY CHANCE, by                    
First Line: Joshua was 'the child at old man allen's,'
Last Line: He'd always wait half-crying a long while after.
Subject(s): Hunger


Joshua was "the child at old man Allen's,"
Back in the mountains where few people passed.
He found his toys himself in sticks and stones
And told the cat his stories about the clouds
When she was purring warmly on the bed.
And no one came to drive her off.
Sometimes a dark-eyed woman spent the day
With her he called "Aunt Sarah."
If Aunt went out, the stranger came up here;
He feared the hunger in her arms and eyes
And wriggled away but came again to stare
At one more like himself than he could know.
When she'd gone and waved before the road,
Dropped off in a cavern of firs and spruces,
He'd always wait half-crying a long while after.





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