Poetry Explorer

Classic and Contemporary Poetry

SPOON RIVER ANTHOLOGY: TOM MERRITT by EDGAR LEE MASTERS

Poet Analysis

First Line: AT FIRST I SUSPECTED SOMETHING
Last Line: AS HE AIMED AND FIRED AT MY HEART.
Subject(s): MURDER; UNFAITHFULNESS; INFIDELITY; ADULTERY; INCONSTANCY;
AT first I suspected something --
She acted so calm and absent-minded.
And one day I heard the back door shut,
As I entered the front, and I saw him slink
Back of the smokehouse into the lot,
And run across the field.
And I meant to kill him on sight.
But that day, walking near Fourth Bridge,
Without a stick or a stone at hand,
All of a sudden I saw him standing,
Scared to death, holding his rabbits,
And all I could say was, "Don't, Don't, Don't,"
As he aimed and fired at my heart.




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