WHEN thirteen teams go past your door, A-followed up by fourteen more And one or two to spare; All heading towards the County seat, With something in behind to eat, You know them teams are bound to meet At Middlebury Fair. Yes; that's the way the crowd convened Before the world was gasolined, And if you'd cast an eye At noon behind the Floral Hall, You'd seen 'em eating, one and all, A-hunks of cheese that wasn't small And pie that sure was pie. The Monktoners appeared in flocks, The Orwellites in solid blocks, And every place you went, You met right up with folks you knew, "The world" was there and happy, too, From rich old coots to Hare-lipped Lew That wasn't wuth a cent. By noon the litter scattered 'round Would make you s'pose the solid ground Was formed of peanut peel; The pedlars talked no end of chaff, The "grease-spot-man" made millions laugh, The one-eyed, two-tailed Weybridge calf Made lots of wimmen squeal. The sight our fambly liked the best Was what they called the "cattle test;" It made your heart-throbs pause To hear a great long whiplash crack, And see them oxen take up slack, And haul a mountain fort and back And leave it where it was. But when they rung the trotting gong That crowd become a "surging throng," And bolted towards the track; They left each cage and coop and pen, They cut the Shropshire-Dorset men, Good bye to blooded hog and hen— You couldn't hold 'em back. My! how they watched the different heats, And stood a-top the buggy seats And almost come to blows; One feller climbed the quarter pole, And once a deacon flashed a roll, And Uncle had his lap-robe stole Right underneath his nose. But going home—Je-hosh-a-phat! You never saw a race like that, Each hoss and every mare Picked up their everlasting heels, And dust and sass and scraping wheels, And numerous spill-outs, cuts and keels Wound up the Merry Fair. | Discover our Poem Explanations and Poet Analyses!Other Poems of Interest...THE SPARROW HARK IN THE RAIN (ALEXANDER STEPHENS HEARS NEWS) by EDGAR LEE MASTERS THE CROCODILE, FR. ALICE IN WONDERLAND by CHARLES LUTWIDGE DODGSON NOCTURNAL SKETCH; BLANK VERSE IN RHYME by THOMAS HOOD AT THE SHRINE by RICHARD KENDALL MUNKITTRICK LOVE LIES BLEEDING by CHRISTINA GEORGINA ROSSETTI MONNA INNOMINATA, A SONNET OF SONNETS: 13 by CHRISTINA GEORGINA ROSSETTI |