Out O' The Fire. Poem Rhyme Scheme and Analysis
Rhyme Scheme: A BBCC DDEE FFGG HHII JJK LLMM NNOO PPAA QQRR CCSS TTUU VVEE CCWX YYII ZZA2B2 C2C2D2D2 NNE2E2 LLOO F2F2G2G2 YYII OOH2H2 I2I2J2K2 EEL2L2| As Told in | A |
| - | |
| Year of ' children middle of the fall | B |
| On one fearful night children we well nigh lost our all | B |
| True it wa'n't no great sum we had to lose that night | C |
| But when a little's all you've got it comes to a blessed sight | C |
| - | |
| I was a mighty worker in them 'ere difficult days | D |
| For work is a good investment and almost always pays | D |
| But when ten years' hard labor went smokin' into the air | E |
| I doubted all o' the maxims an' felt that it wasn't fair | E |
| - | |
| Up from the East we had traveled with all of our household wares | F |
| Where we had long been workin' a piece of land on shares | F |
| But how a fellow's to prosper without the rise of the land | G |
| For just two thirds of nothin' I never could understand | G |
| - | |
| Up from the East we had traveled me and my folks alone | H |
| And quick we went to workin' a piece of land of our own | H |
| Small was our backwoods quarters and things looked mighty cheap | I |
| But every thing we put in there we put in there to keep | I |
| - | |
| So with workin' and savin' we managed to get along | J |
| Managed to make a livin' and feel consid'able strong | J |
| And things went smooth and happy an' fair as the average run | K |
| Till every thing went back on me in the fall of ' | - |
| - | |
| First thing bothered and worried me was 'long o' my daughter Kate | L |
| Rather a han'some cre'tur' and folks all liked her gait | L |
| Not so nice as them sham ones in yeller covered books | M |
| But still there wa'n't much discount on Katherine's ways an' looks | M |
| - | |
| And Katherine's smile was pleasant and Katherine's temper good | N |
| And how she come to like Tom Smith I never understood | N |
| For she was a mornin' glory as fair as you ever see | O |
| And Tom was a shag bark hickory as green as green could be | O |
| - | |
| Like takes to like is a proverb that's nothin' more than trash | P |
| And many a time I've seen it all pulverized to smash | P |
| For folks in no way sim'lar I've noticed ag'in and ag'in | A |
| Will often take to each other and stick together like sin | A |
| - | |
| Next thing bothered and worried me was 'long of a terrible drouth | Q |
| And me an' all o' my neighbors was some'at down in the mouth | Q |
| And week after week the rain held off and things all pined an' dried | R |
| And we drove the cattle miles to drink and many of 'em died | R |
| - | |
| And day after day went by us so han'some and so bright | C |
| And never a drop of water came near us day or night | C |
| And what with the neighbors' grumblin' and what with my daily loss | S |
| I must own that somehow or other I was gettin' mighty cross | S |
| - | |
| And on one Sunday evenin' I was comin' down the lane | T |
| From meetin' where our preacher had stuck and hung for rain | T |
| And various slants on heaven kept workin' in my mind | U |
| And the smoke from Sanders' fallow was makin' me almost blind | U |
| - | |
| I opened the door kind o' sudden an' there my Katherine sat | V |
| As cozy as any kitten along with a friendly cat | V |
| An' Tom was dreadful near her his arm on the back of her chair | E |
| And lookin' as happy and cheerful as if there was rain to spare | E |
| - | |
| Get out of this house in a minute I cried with all my might | C |
| Get out while I'm a talkin' Tom's eyes showed a bit of fight | C |
| But he rose up stiff and surly and made me a civil bow | W |
| And mogged along to the door way with never a word of row | X |
| - | |
| And I snapped up my wife quite surly when she asked me what I'd said | Y |
| And I scolded Kate for cryin' and sent her up stairs to bed | Y |
| And then I laid down for the purpose of gettin' a little sleep | I |
| An' the wind outside was a howlin' and puttin' it in to keep | I |
| - | |
| 'Twas half past three next mornin' or maybe 'twas nearer four | Z |
| The neighbors they came a yellin' and poundin' at my door | Z |
| Get up get up they shouted get up there's danger near | A2 |
| The woods are all a burnin' the wind is blowin' it here | B2 |
| - | |
| If ever it happens children that you get catched some time | C2 |
| With fire a blowin' toward you as fast as fire can climb | C2 |
| You'll get up and get in a hurry as fast as you can budge | D2 |
| It's a lively season of the year or else I ain't no judge | D2 |
| - | |
| Out o' the dear old cabin we tumbled fast as we could | N |
| Smashed two thirds of our dishes and saved some four foot wood | N |
| With smoke a settlin' round us and gettin' into our eyes | E2 |
| And fire a roarin' an' roarin' an' drowndin' all of our cries | E2 |
| - | |
| And just as the roof was smokin' and we hadn't long to wait | L |
| I says to my wife Now get out and hustle you and Kate | L |
| And just as the roof was fallin' my wife she come to me | O |
| With a face as white as a corpse's face and Where is Kate says she | O |
| - | |
| And the neighbors come runnin' to me with faces black as the ground | F2 |
| And shouted Where is Katherine She's nowhere to be found | F2 |
| An' this is all I remember till I found myself next day | G2 |
| A lyin' in Sanders' cabin a mile an' a half away | G2 |
| - | |
| If ever you wake up children with somethin' into your head | Y |
| Concernin' a han'some daughter that's lyin' still an' dead | Y |
| All scorched into coal black cinders perhaps you may not weep | I |
| But I rather think it'll happen you'll wish you'd a kept asleep | I |
| - | |
| And all I could say was Kath'rine oh Kath'rine come to me | O |
| And all I could think was Kath'rine and all that I could see | O |
| Was Sanders a standin' near to me his finger into his eye | H2 |
| And my wife a bendin' over me and tellin' me not to cry | H2 |
| - | |
| When lo Tom Smith he entered his face lit up with grins | I2 |
| And Kate a hangin' on his arm as neat as a row of pins | I2 |
| And Tom looked glad but sheepish and said Excuse me Squire | J2 |
| But I 'loped with Kate and married her an hour before the fire | K2 |
| - | |
| Well children I was shattered 'twas more than I could bear | E |
| And I up and went for Kate an' Tom and hugged 'em then and there | E |
| And since that time the times have changed an' now they ain't so bad | L2 |
| And Katherine she's your mother now and Thomas Smith's your dad | L2 |
Will Carleton
(1)
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About Out O' The Fire.
Out O' The Fire. is a poem by Will Carleton. This page includes the poem text, poet information, related topics, comments, and similar poems.