Poetry Explorer- Classic Contemporary Poetry, APPLE-PARING NIGHT IN VERMONT, by DANIEL LEAVENS CADY


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Classic and Contemporary Poetry

APPLE-PARING NIGHT IN VERMONT, by                     Poet's Biography
First Line: The biggest basket 'round our place
Last Line: That weekly apple-paring night.
Subject(s): Apples; Farm Life; Food & Eating; Fruit; Harvest; Labor & Laborers; Vermont; Agriculture; Farmers; Work; Workers


THE biggest basket 'round our place,
It held a bushel and a half;
The other ones all went inside
Like shorts inside a cosset calf;
And when we boys got home from school
And saw it standing there in sight,
A-plumping full of big pound-sweets,
We knew 'twas apple-paring night.

And so when supper things was done,
We raised both table leaves and lit
An extry lamp, and got the frames
And wooden bowls and coring kit,
And strings and needles and a box
In which the skins and cores could light,
And went to work, like all possessed,
For it was apple-paring night.

The hired man, he jumped right in
And run the queer machine that pared;
You held the knife with either hand
And with the other turned and swared;
The thing was made by Gilman Sawin
That grandpa raised—a boy 'twas bright—
I wish I had that old machine
We used on apple-paring night.

We split 'em first, and then we cored,
And went all through like little men;
And then we had to start to string
And go all through the work again;
It made you tired the second time,
Because you knew that Riley Wright
Was home a-ciphering, jest to get
Ahead of you on apple night.

Sometimes a neighbor used to call—
I still can hear the knocker sound—
And if his wife was with him, too,
We'd all quit work and set around;
But pa would sometimes keep right on
A-stringing, that was his delight,
Especially if them folks was apt
To call on apple-paring night.

We men, we did the work complete,
For all agreed the wimmen folks
Had work a-plenty every night
A-mending mittens, coats and cloaks;
And though I thought that I was 'bused,
I see that my abuse was slight;
In fact, I'm glad we used to have
That weekly apple-paring night.





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