The Picture by Payson Sibley Wild
A dialect poem in which the speaker describes a picture hanging in his room at Bill's: an oldish man in drapish robes and strapped sandals, standing on a stone verandah above peaceful green fields, a hill, a crick, and little houses, with a dim wall of clouds shutting off the view behind. The speaker often studies the man's far-off look and bowed shoulders, wondering what he's thinking. One June night he asks Bill, who recites verse comparing life's view to clouds that narrow in, recalling how in childhood no such clouds existed and all was play, until something tore them open and let light strike his heart—children don't know what that ray means, yet it's fine to feel it before learning hearts must break. Bill then flatly tells the speaker to cut thistles south of the barn tomorrow and says goodnight.
By Payson Sibley Wild · Genre: Poetry, Narrative Poetry, Philosophical Poetry · 768 words
First lines
A pitchur of a feller hangin' up / In thet 'ar little room o' mine at Bill's / Hez offen set my wond'rin' works ter goin'. / He's stannin' on a stun verandy like, / A oldish sort o' man with streaky hair, / Up high whar 'e kin see some ways away, / 'N' 'is clo'es is suthin' like the ones I seen / In Bill's 'lustrated fambly Bible, hung / All over 'im in drapish kind o' folds, / An' jes' some in-soles fassen'd on 'is feet / With funny strings a-runnin' threw 'is toes. / They's trees an' scen'ry out in front, green fiel's, / A rollin' hill or so, a crick, a bunch / O' little houses whar they's fokes at work, / An' things looks peeceful, like they do here'bouts / In this 'ere Skillet deestric' in Jooly. / But back o' all them things yew seem ter see / A wall o' clouds a-fencin' on 'em in, / An' yew cain't tell 'f they's mount'ins, sea, or what / A-layin' off behind, it's all so dim. / Afore I've blowed the light out menny nights / I've looked at thet thar chap, an' almos' tho't / I knowed what he was sensin', 'cos I seen / T' 'e hed a far-off look, an' sort o' scrunched / 'Is shoulders 'zif 'e'd clean fergot hisself.
Similar titles
Genres
- Poetry — The work is written in verse form with clear rhythmic patterns, line breaks, and poetic language rendered in rural dialect.
- Narrative Poetry — Tells a complete story through poetic form with character development and plot progression typical of narrative verse.
- Philosophical Poetry — Explores existential themes about life's meaning, passage of time, lost innocence, and the human condition through meditative reflection.
- Regionalism — Rooted in rural American culture with authentic dialectal language and working-class perspective specific to rural Americana.
Tags
dialect poetry · vernacular verse · pastoral poetry · narrative poem · rural America · American countryside · agricultural setting · landscape painting · contemplation · philosophical · existential · loss of innocence
What this Textopian page supports
The Picture is listed on Textopian as a poem 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: Poem
- Author: Payson Sibley Wild
- Date: Date unknown
- Language: English
- Genres: Poetry, Narrative Poetry, Philosophical Poetry, Regionalism, Dramatic Monologue
- Length: 768 words
- Structure: 1 section, 6 paragraphs
- Reading fit: Easy (6th Grade)
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