The Skillet by Payson Sibley Wild
An unnamed dialect speaker addresses a stranger, insisting the Skillet, a crooked, scummy, log-choked creek, haunts one's dreams despite plainer streams existing. In April the gums, water-oaks, hickories, sassafras, violets, and pink blossoms along its edges burst into leafy swelling, and birds of every color sing. The speaker also describes "noodling" for catfish: wading into muddy, yellowed water, feeling blind along warm shallow mud-holes, stroking a resting "cat" gently, then suddenly gripping its gills and slinging it onto the bank.
By Payson Sibley Wild · First published 1918 · Genre: Poetry, Dialect Poetry, Pastoral Poetry · 539 words
First lines
I reck'n yew've never saw the Skillet? / Wal, ye-e-es, they's likelier streams; / But when ye git ri' daown to 't, stranger, / It kind o' hants yer dreams.
It pokes along through grayish bottoms, / An' 's crookeder then worms, / An' the water's sometimes green an' scummy, / An' full o' things thet squirms.
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Genres
- Poetry — The work is structured in verse form with line breaks, rhyme scheme, and poetic meter throughout, making it fundamentally a poem.
- Dialect Poetry — The entire composition employs heavy vernacular and phonetic spelling ('reck'n', 'wal', 'yer', 'daown') that is integral to its voice and style.
- Pastoral Poetry — The poem celebrates rural landscapes and the natural beauty of a specific countryside location with appreciation for agrarian setting and seasonal renewal.
- Nature Poetry — Primary focus is detailed, vivid description of a natural stream ecosystem including flora (sassafras, gums, violets), fauna (cardinals, catfish), and seasonal cycles.
Tags
creek · catfish · noodling · fishing · dialect · rural · southern · spring · April · narrative poem · dreams · haunting
What this Textopian page supports
The Skillet is listed on Textopian as a poem by Payson Sibley Wild, dated 1918 CE.
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: 1918 CE
- Language: English
- Genres: Poetry, Dialect Poetry, Pastoral Poetry, Nature Poetry, Narrative Poetry
- Length: 539 words
- Structure: 1 section, 12 paragraphs
- Reading fit: Easy (6th Grade)
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- Work identity for The Skillet by Payson Sibley Wild
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