Skip to content
Linespedia

When The Frost Is On The Punkin

By James Whitcomb Riley

Topics: classic

When the frost is on the punkin and the fodder's in the shock,     And you hear the kyouck and gobble of the struttin' turkey-cock,     And the clackin' of the guineys, and the cluckin' of the hens,     And the rooster's hallylooyer as he tiptoes on the fence;     O, it's then's the times a feller is a-feelin' at his best,     With the risin' sun to greet him from a night of peaceful rest,     As he leaves the house, bare-headed, and goes out to feed the stock,     When the frost is on the punkin and the fodder's in the shock.     They's something kindo' harty-like about the atmusfere     When the heat of summer's over and the coolin' fall is here -     Of course we miss the flowers, and the blossums on the trees,     And the mumble of the hummin'-birds and buzzin' of the bees;     But the air's so appetizin'; and the landscape through the haze     Of a crisp and sunny morning of the airly autumn days     Is a pictur' that no painter has the colorin' to mock -     When the frost is on the punkin and the fodder's in the shock.     The husky, rusty russel of the tossels of the corn,     And the raspin' of the tangled leaves, as golden as the morn;     The stubble in the furries - kindo' lonesome-like, but still     A-preachin' sermuns to us of the barns they growed to fill;     The strawstack in the medder, and the reaper in the shed;     The hosses in theyr stalls below - the clover overhead! -     O, it sets my hart a-clickin' like the tickin' of a clock,     When the frost is on the punkin and the fodder's in the shock!     Then your apples all is getherd, and the ones a feller keeps     Is poured around the cellar-floor in red and yeller heaps;     And your cider-makin's over, and your wimmern-folks is through     With their mince and apple-butter, and theyr souse and saussage, too! ...     I don't know how to tell it - but ef sich a thing could be     As the Angels wantin' boardin', and they'd call around on ME -     I'd want to 'commodate 'em - all the whole-indurin' flock -     When the frost is on the punkin and the fodder's in the shock!

AI analysis available. Enable JavaScript to interact.

About this line

"When the frost is on the punkin and the fodder's in the shock,..."

Exploring the themes of classic, James Whitcomb Riley delivers a powerful performance in "When The Frost Is On The Punkin"... ### Why We Love This Line At Linespedia, we believe that poetry is the ultimate sanctuary for the soul...

Attribution & Rights

Author:James Whitcomb Riley

"When the frost is on the punkin and the fodder's i..." by James Whitcomb Riley

For usage rights, copyright concerns, or to report an issue with this content, please visit our Copyright & Report page.

Related lines

"Writ in between the lines of his life-deed         We trace the sacred service of a heart         Answering the Divine command, in every par"

"Crowd about me, little children -         Come and cluster 'round my knee     While I tell a little story         That happened once with me."

"O the night was dark and the night was late,         And the robbers came to rob him;      And they picked the locks of his palace-gate,"

"O her beautiful eyes! they are as blue as the dew         On the violet's bloom when the morning is new,         And the light of their love"

"Here morning in the ploughman's songs is met     Ere yet one footstep shows in all the sky,     And twilight in the east, a doubt as yet,     S"

"The Text is taken from Percy's Reliques (1765), vol. i. p. 71, 'given from two MS. copies, transmitted from Scotland.' Herd had a very similar bal"

James Whitcomb Riley

About James Whitcomb Riley

James Whitcomb Riley (1849–1916) was an American poet known as the "Hoosier Poet." His dialect poems—including "Little Orphant Annie" and "When the Frost Is on the Punkin"—celebrate rural Indiana life and childhood nostalgia.

Full Bibliography
Continue Reading

"Writ in between the lines of his life-deed        ..."

Weekly Poetic Insight

Join our literary Sanctuary

Get the most inspiring lines, poetic analysis, and secret shayaris delivered to your inbox every Sunday.