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Classic and Contemporary Poetry

SHELLING PEAS by CHRISTOPHER PEARSE CRANCH

First Line: NO, TOM, YOU MAY BANTER AS MUCH AS YOU PLEASE
No, Tom , you may banter as much as you please;
But it's all the result of the shellin ' them peas.
Why, I had n't the slightest idee, do you know ,
That so serious a matter would out of it grow .
I tell you what, Tom , I do feel kind o' scared .
I dreamed it, I hoped it , but never once dared
To breathe it to her. And besides, I must say
I always half fancied she fancied Jim Wray,
So I felt kind o stuffy and proud, and took care
To be out of the way when that feller was there
A danglin ' around; for thinks I , if it's him
That Katy likes best, what's the use lookin' grim
At Katy or Jim , - for it's all up with me;
And I'd better jest let 'em alone, do you see ?
But you would n't have thought it; that girl never keered
The snap of a pea -pod for Jim's busly beard.
Well, here's how it was. I was takin ' some berries
Across near her garden to leave at Aunt Mary's;
When, jest as I come to the old ellum -tree,
All alone in the shade, that June mornin ', was she
Shellin ' peas - setting there on a garden settee.
I swan , she was handsomer ' n ever I seen ,
Like a rose all alone in a moss- work o' green
Well , there wasn't no use; so , says I, I'll jest linger
And gaze at her here, hid behind a syringa.
But she heard me a movin', and looked a bit frightened ,
So I come and stood near her. I fancied she brightened,
And seemed sort o ' pleased. So I hoped she was well;
And - would she allow me to help her to shell ?
For she sot with a monstrous big dish full of peas
Jest fresh from the vines, which she held on her knees.
May I help you , Miss Katy ? " says I. "As you please,
Mr. Baxter," says shie. But you're busy, I guess
Glancin ' down at my berries, and then at her dress.
"Not the least. There's no hurry. It ain't very late;
And I'd rather be here, and Aunt Mary can wait."
So I sot down beside her; an' as nobody seen us,
I jest took the dish , and I held it between us .
And I thought to myself I must make an endeavor
To know which she likes, Jim or me, now or never!
But I couldn't say nothin '. We sot there and held
That green pile between us. She shelled , and I she led;
And pop went the pods; and I couldn't help thinkin '
Of popping the question. A kind of a sinkin
"Come over my spirits; till at last I got out,
"Mister Wray's an admirer of yours, I've no doubt
You see him quite often ." "Well, sometimes.
But why And what if I did ? " "O , well , nothin '," says I.
"Some folks says you're goin' to marry him, though ."
"Who says so ? " says she; and she flared up like tow
When you throw in a match . "Well, some folks that I know ."
'T ain't true, sir ," says she. And she snapped a big pod,
Till the peas, right and left, flew all over the sod .
Then I looked in her eyes , but she only looked down
With a blush she tried to chase off with a frown .
Then it's somebody else you like better, " says I.
No, it ain't though ," says she; and I thought she would cry .
Then I tried to say somethin '; it stuck in my throat,
And all my idees were upset and afloat.
But I said I knew somebody ' d loved her so long
Though he never had told her -with feelin's so strong
He was ready to die at her feet , if she chosed,
If she only could love him! - I hardly supposed
That she cared for him much , though. And so Tom, -and so,
For I thought that I saw how the matter would go,
With my heart all a jumpin' with rapture, I found
I had taken her hand, and my arm was around
Her waist ere I knew it, and she with her head
On my shoulder, -but no, I won't tell what she said .
The birds sang above us; our secret was theirs;
The leaves whispered soft in the wandering airs.
I tell you the world was a new world to me.
I can talk of these things like a book now , you see .
But the peas ? Ah, the peas in the pods were a mess
Rather bigger than those that we shelled , you may guess.
It's risky to set with a girl shellin ' peas.
You may tease me now , Tom , just as much as you please.




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