A Thanksgiving poem. "When the Frost is on the Punkin"

[A HERETIC I AM]

"When the Frost is on the Punkin"
by James Whitcomb Riley

WHEN the frost is on the punkin and the fodder's in the shock,
And you hear the kyouck and gobble of the struttin' turkey-cock,
And the clackin' of the guineys, and the cluckin' of the hens,
And the rooster's hallylooyer as he tiptoes on the fence;
O, it's then the time a feller is a-feelin' at his best,
With the risin' sun to greet him from a night of peaceful rest,
As he leaves the house, bareheaded, and goes out to feed the stock,
When the frost is on the punkin and the fodder's in the shock.

They's something kindo' harty-like about the atmusfere
When the heat of summer's over and the coolin' fall is here—
Of course we miss the flowers, and the blossoms on the trees,
And the mumble of the hummin'-birds and buzzin' of the bees;
But the air's so appetizin'; and the landscape through the haze
Of a crisp and sunny morning of the airly autumn days
Is a pictur' that no painter has the colorin' to mock—
When the frost is on the punkin and the fodder's in the shock.

The husky, rusty russel of the tossels of the corn,
And the raspin' of the tangled leaves as golden as the morn;
The stubble in the furries—kindo' lonesome-like, but still
A-preachin' sermuns to us of the barns they growed to fill;
The strawstack in the medder, and the reaper in the shed;
The hosses in theyr stalls below—the clover overhead!—
O, it sets my hart a-clickin' like the tickin' of a clock,
When the frost is on the punkin and the fodder's in the shock.

Then your apples all is gethered, and the ones a feller keeps
Is poured around the cellar-floor in red and yaller heaps;
And your cider-makin's over, and your wimmern-folks is through
With theyr mince and apple-butter, and theyr souse and sausage too!...
I don't know how to tell it—but ef such a thing could be
As the angels wantin' boardin', and they'd call around on me—
I'd want to 'commodate 'em—all the whole-indurin' flock—
When the frost is on the punkin and the fodder's in the shock.


Happy Thanksgiving, my fellow progressives.

[henslee]

1. Wow, I need to read this one slowly.

[Butterflies]

2. what a beautiful poem

I haven't read that in years.

Happy Thanksgiving back to you!

[Buns_of_Fire]

3. ...which reminds me of a similar, but much shorter, seasonal poem:

(ahem)

When the weather's hot and sticky
That's no time to dunk your dickie
When the dew is on the pun'kin
THAT'S the time for dickie-dunkin'!

(From one of the lesser-known Shakespeare works, I think. But the one in the OP IS a beautiful poem...)

[lonestarnot]

6. funny!

[rzemanfl]

10. I was expecting this to be the original post. I come from

Wisconsin, where the third line was "When the FROST is on the pun'kin." On edit (as in the original post).

[xchrom]

4. about my wimmern-folks

they're not making mince and apple butter -- but they do keep on talking something fierce about sausage.

[lonestarnot]

5. Yes! will read this to the gang here! Thank you!

:hi:

[A HERETIC I AM]

7. I'm flattered. My brother has made a tradition of reciting it every year.

It is a lovely sentiment, i think and i am glad you enjoyed it enough to share with your family.

[lonestarnot]

8. Yes, thank you again!

:toast:

[randr]

9. And one back at ya

T'was the night of Thanksgiving,
But I just couldn't sleep.
I tried counting backwards,
I tried counting sheep.
The leftovers beckoned,
The dark meat and white.
But I fought the temptation,
With all of my might.
Tossing and turning,
with anticipation.
The thought of a snack
became infatuation.
So I raced to the kitchen,
Flung open the door,
And gazed at the fridge,
Full of goodies galore.
I gobbled up turkey,
And buttered potatoes,
Pickles and carrots,
Beans and tomatoes.
I felt myself swelling,
So plump and so round.
'til all of a sudden,
I rose off the ground.
I crashed through the ceiling,
Floating into the sky,
With a mouthful of pudding,
And a handful of pie.
But I managed to yell
As I soared past the trees
Happy eating to all,
Pass the cranberries, please!!
May your stuffing be tasty
May your turkey be plump.
May your potatoes and gravy
Have nary a lump.
May your yams be delicious,
May your pies take the prize
And May your Thanksgiving dinner
Stay off of your thighs!

Have a Happy Thanksgiving

-unknown

[kentuck]

11. One of my favorites !

From an Indiana fellow, I think?

[babylonsister]

12. Shorter version:

When the weather's hot and sticky,
That's no time to dunk the dicky.
When the frost is on the pumpkin,
That's the time for dicky dunkin'.

Happy Thanksgiving!

:evilgrin:

[shrike]

13. I love poetry

Don't read it enough. Thank you.

[likesmountains 52]

14. Thank you, I love this one and Little Orphant Annie...I always read that

to my kids at Halloween...