Classic and Contemporary Poetry
RIME OF THE CROSS-CUT SAW, by R. S. CLARK First Line: I've often said, young feller Last Line: You don't know what you've missed. Subject(s): Memory | ||||||||
I'VE often said, young feller, An' I always shall insist If you've never pulled a cross-cut There's a heap of fun you've missed. If you've never mauled a timber wedge, An' hewed an oaken glut, An' jerked a stump-saw lively When the kerf was saggin' shut, An' blocked the notch with cobble-stone To make the timber jump, An' watched the giant waver An' topple on the stump, An' felt the woods just quiver With the ferver of his fall, An' dodged the "widow makers" Why, your cup ain't full at all. I wouldn't take a fortune For some memories that I've got Of workin' with my Daddy Down in our old timber lot. If I lived to be a thousand, With all the strength I had I'd bless that spot, for there it was That first I knew my Dad! An' while I'm on the subject Just let me say there ain't No place in all creation Where two men can get acquaint Like that same old country wood-lot When the mornin' snow is clean An' their two souls sing a-swingin' With the singin' brier between. I sometimes like to fancy That when the earth was new The Lord glanced round one mornin' As he still continues to, An' the City Folk were wicked, But the Farmer Folk were good, An' the Lord, by way of blessin', Just invented cuttin' wood. An' that's how I explain it, An' that's why I insist If you've never pulled a cross-cut You don't know what you've missed. | Discover our Poem Explanations and Poet Analyses!Other Poems of Interest...MEMORY AS A HEARING AID by TONY HOAGLAND THE SAME QUESTION by JOHN HOLLANDER FORGET HOW TO REMEMBER HOW TO FORGET by JOHN HOLLANDER ON THAT SIDE by LAWRENCE JOSEPH MEMORY OF A PORCH by DONALD JUSTICE BEYOND THE HUNTING WOODS by DONALD JUSTICE LAUS INFANTIUM by WILLIAM CANTON |
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