The 'Possum Hunt by Payson Sibley Wild
Bill and the narrator set out on an autumn night along "Four Mile," near the Skillet, to hunt possum by moonlight after a supper of side meat, cornbread, pickled beets, fried eggs and pie. Bill's hound Jess picks up a trail and the men follow her song for over an hour until she corners the possum in a thick gum tree, which Bill fells. They haul out a white, humanlike possum playing dead, which Bill warns the narrator to keep gripped by its curled snout. Back at Four Mile, resting and talking of Indians under the moon, the narrator notices the possum has escaped.
By Payson Sibley Wild · First published 1918 · Genre: Narrative Poetry, Dialect Poetry, Ballad · 677 words
First lines
"Four Mile" was jes' kind o' googlin' along / (It ketches the Skillet in "Thirty-three" / Whar the woods is thick an' the moon ain't strong, / An' the 'possum hides in a holler tree); / 'T was shimmerin' thar all gold an' bright / Ez we loafed threw the medder thet Awtum night.
We'd et a light supper-sow belly, corn bread, / Pickled beets, fried eggs an' two kinds o' pie- / When Bill, sort o' cazuel, shoved back an' said, / A-squintin' aloft at a perfec' sky: / "S a pretty good night fer coons; so still / Yer kin hear yer heart when yer've clum up hill."
Similar titles
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- The Hunting Of Arscott Of Tetcott by Sabine Baring Gould
- The Man From Goondiwindi Q by Andrew Barton Paterson
- The Keeper by Sabine Baring Gould
- A New Forest Ballad by Charles Kingsley
- Wonderfu Slee by Helen Gray Cone
Genres
- Narrative Poetry — The work fundamentally tells a complete story with clear narrative structure, following a hunting expedition from inception through action to unexpected conclusion.
- Dialect Poetry — Written entirely in rural American dialect with phonetic spellings and vernacular speech patterns that define the work's authentic voice and are essential to its character.
- Ballad — Employs the traditional ballad form of narrative verse typically associated with folk tales and songs, telling a story of human action and adventure in poetic form.
- Rural Poetry — Centers on rural American countryside life, hunting culture, and agricultural settings, depicting the daily experiences and lifestyle of rural communities with specificity.
Tags
possum hunting · hunting · nocturnal adventure · moonlight · autumn · rural America · American South · wilderness · folklore · narrative poem · dialect poetry · vernacular verse
What this Textopian page supports
The 'Possum Hunt is listed on Textopian as a poem by Payson Sibley Wild, dated 1918 CE.
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- Work type: Poem
- Author: Payson Sibley Wild
- Date: 1918 CE
- Language: English
- Genres: Narrative Poetry, Dialect Poetry, Ballad, Rural Poetry, Folk Poetry
- Length: 677 words
- Structure: 1 section, 8 paragraphs
- Reading fit: Easy (6th Grade)
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