A narrow Fellow in the Grass 1
Occasionally rides－
You may have met Him－did you not
His notice sudden is－
The Grass divides as with a Comb－5
A spotted shaft is seen－
And then it closes at your feet
And opens further on－
He likes a Boggy Acre 9
A Floor too cool for Corn－
Yet when a Boy, and Barefoot－
I more than once at Noon
Have passed, I thought, a Whip lash 13
Unbraiding in the Sun
When stooping to secure it
It wrinkled, and was gone－
Several of Nature's People 17
I know, and they know me－
I feel for them a transport
Of cordiality－
But never met this Fellow 21
Attended, or alone
Without a tighter breathing
And Zero at the Bone－
Occasionally rides－
You may have met Him－did you not
His notice sudden is－
The Grass divides as with a Comb－5
A spotted shaft is seen－
And then it closes at your feet
And opens further on－
He likes a Boggy Acre 9
A Floor too cool for Corn－
Yet when a Boy, and Barefoot－
I more than once at Noon
Have passed, I thought, a Whip lash 13
Unbraiding in the Sun
When stooping to secure it
It wrinkled, and was gone－
Several of Nature's People 17
I know, and they know me－
I feel for them a transport
Of cordiality－
But never met this Fellow 21
Attended, or alone
Without a tighter breathing
And Zero at the Bone－
(F.1096/J.986)
[1] narrow Fellow:: a scarecrow.
[2] Occasionally:: on a particular occasion. rides:: hangs on a stick that supports the scarecrow
[5] Grass:: the grass covering the scarecrow.
[7, 8] closes, opens:: the grass is tied at the feet with some spreading after.
[11, 12] Boy, I:: the narrator is a man, recollecting his boyhood.
[13] a Whip lash:: a wisp of grass.
[16] wrinkled, gone:: the grass become part of the scarecrow.
[17] Nature's People:: the birds being scared away by the scarecrow.
[24] Zero at the Bone:: a hint that scarecrow has no bone.