The Letter from Lon by Payson Sibley Wild
Bill is prouder than ever the morning Lon's first letter arrives from France. Viny comes running from the road waving it, startling Laury into dropping a pie on the hound dog, and the farmyard animals scatter in confusion. Bill notices the envelope has been censored, with cuts and blots where words were removed; Laury complains about the "Sensure" that cut it, then hurries back to tend her stewing rhubarb, leaving Bill to read the letter aloud to the narrator. Bill reads Lon's words: he's glad to hear his father and mother are well, and the boys are determined to stick to their job until the "Potsdam Crocodile" is defeated. Much of the letter is unreadable due to the censoring of place names and movements. Lon writes of missing the farm, old Whitey, Ben, the wood-lot, the sunsets, and the furrows cut with the old walking plow, then says that when he looks across at the "Boshes" and thinks of their cruelty, he knows his job and is glad to be there. Overcome, Bill suddenly leaves for the crib, pretending he forgot something, and the narrator knows he won't return right away. The narrator, moved to tears himself, waters the hogs five times that day, repeating to himself that the Anjelo-Saxtons never quit.
By Payson Sibley Wild · Genre: War Fiction, Historical Fiction, Epistolary Fiction · 1,333 words
First lines
I. I never seen a man more prouder 'n Bill / The mornin' Lon's first letter come from France. / He'd et 'is breakfas' an' was harnessin', / An' I stood at the trough a-wat'rin' Babe, / When 'Viny come a-runnin' from the road / A-wavin' suthin' white an' screamin' like / She'd be'n attackted by a bunch o' bees. / Co'se Laury heerd 'er bawlin', dropped a pie / Ri't on the houn' dawg layin' by the door, / An' started like a rabbit fer the yard. / The houn' was scairt an' come a-bell'rin' out / All plastered up with messy strawb'ry dough; / The hens an' geese an' ducks got ri't on aidge / An' nigh screeched all the'r haids off ez they run / In ev'ry which way, 'n' yew'd 'a' tho't the hull / Dum works was bust. But Bill he only grinned; / He knowed what 'Viny hed, fer he hed heerd / The pos'man's car come chuggin' up an' stop / To our front gate. (Bill didn't hev ter look, / Fer he kin sense by lis'nen' ev'ry car / Thet goes by reg'lar-knows 'em by the'r rattle.) / ". D'ye notice, Laury, 'pears ter me like this / Envelop 's be'n a-monkeyed with somehow; / They's suthin' plastered over it that sez-" / An' then 'e eyed it closter, spellin' out / The letters 'e hed cut threw with 'is 'nife.
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Genres
- War Fiction — The narrative centers on a soldier's experience in World War I and its emotional consequences on the home front, with themes of duty, sacrifice, and moral commitment to fighting against German forces.
- Historical Fiction — The work is set during World War I with historically accurate details including military censorship, soldier correspondence, and period-specific references establishing a specific historical moment.
- Epistolary Fiction — The central plot device is a censored letter from the soldier son, with the letter's content and redactions forming the emotional and thematic core of the narrative.
- Narrative Poetry — The work is composed in vernacular verse with consistent rhythmic patterns, line breaks, and poetic devices rather than prose fiction.
Tags
World War I · letter · military censorship · father and son · homesickness · American farm · dialect verse · narrative poem · patriotism · sacrifice · emotional restraint · nostalgia
What this Textopian page supports
The Letter from Lon 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: War Fiction, Historical Fiction, Epistolary Fiction, Narrative Poetry, Rural Fiction
- Length: 1,333 words
- Structure: 1 section, 5 paragraphs
- Reading fit: Easy (6th Grade)
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- Work identity for The Letter from Lon by Payson Sibley Wild
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- Genre and topic classification from the Textopian catalog
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