Laury's "Eats" by Payson Sibley Wild
Bill rouses the narrator at quarter to five for barn chores—feeding Ball, Belle, and Zilfy—before breakfast at Laury's kitchen, where Matildy and Sophy serve and Bill mumbles grace. The narrator catalogs the spread: mashed potatoes, butter, sausage with eggs in gravy, chicken fricassee, dumplings, succotash, pickled beets, slaw, parsnips, jams, bread, corncake, lettuce, onions, three cups of chicory coffee, two kinds of pie, cheese, doughnuts, milk, and cake. Bill passes a toothpick afterward. The narrator concludes farm work's real hardship isn't the heat or cold—it's not getting enough to eat.
By Payson Sibley Wild · Genre: Poetry, Vernacular/Dialect Literature, Humorous Literature · 781 words
First lines
"It's quarter t' five," Bill hollers; yew sigh an' mutter "Gosh! " / An' jes' slide int' yer overhalls an' shirt; / It ain't much use ter bother with try'n' ter take a wash, / F'r in ha'f a hour yew'll be jes' 's bad fer dirt. / Yew're ou' the barn 'n a jiffy a-feedin' Ball an' Belle, / An' rubbin' up ol' Zilfy's battered hide; / Yew're like a tired enjin', 'cos yer didn't sleep right well, / But say-that breakfas' waitin' thar inside!
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Genres
- Poetry — The work is composed entirely in verse with a consistent rhyme scheme and metrical structure characteristic of narrative poetry.
- Vernacular/Dialect Literature — Written entirely in rural American dialect with phonetic spelling and colloquial expressions that are essential to the work's voice and authenticity.
- Humorous Literature — The piece employs a lighthearted, comedic tone throughout, using playful language, exaggeration, and witty observations about farm life and eating.
- Pastoral Literature — Celebrates rural farm life and agricultural labor, romanticizing the natural rhythms and simple pleasures of farming tradition.
Tags
farm life · rural America · breakfast · food abundance · hunger · manual labor · vernacular poetry · agriculture · early 1900s · American countryside · domestic life · humorous tone
What this Textopian page supports
Laury's "Eats" is listed on Textopian as a short story by Payson Sibley Wild, dated Date unknown.
This source record anchors work identity, reading entry points, and catalog context for checking claims about the work.
- Work type: Short story
- Author: Payson Sibley Wild
- Date: Date unknown
- Language: English
- Genres: Poetry, Vernacular/Dialect Literature, Humorous Literature, Pastoral Literature, Food Writing
- Length: 781 words
- Structure: 1 section, 6 paragraphs
- Reading fit: Standard (8th-9th Grade)
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