Poetry Explorer- Classic Contemporary Poetry, A VERMONT BUTTERY, by DANIEL LEAVENS CADY


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Classic and Contemporary Poetry

A VERMONT BUTTERY, by                     Poet's Biography
First Line: Us children liked the kitchen room
Last Line: Behind the buttery door.
Subject(s): Butter; Vermont


Us children liked the kitchen room
About the best of all;
We liked the clock with great, big head
And feet and legs so small,
That stood 'way up so tall;
Another place we liked as well,
And I don't know but more,
Was where the cooking 'tensils was
Behind the buttery door.

Each thing was on its proper nail,
Jest where it ought to be,
Or else stood back upon the shelf,
Like grandma's Hyson tea,
Too fur for sis or me;
The iron brownbread spoon, so old
It showed the iron ore
Right through the tin, was number one
Behind the buttery door.

The cookie cutters then was next,
By Gol! they hung up high;
The biggest one cut out a dog
That had a holler eye,
Through which a fly could fly;
And one, it cut a lion out,
Although he couldn't roar—
'T was like a bit of Nora's ark
Behind the buttery door.

Then come the nutmeg grater—rough
As wicked tongues that scoff;
The cutest box to hold the nut,
A little chute or trough
To run the powder off:
The straddling piefork hung the next,
I b'lieve on number four—
My Stars! I'd like to look again
Behind the buttery door.

One time a pedlar come along
With something mighty neat,
That beat an egg up fine enough
For spirit-folks to eat;
We bought the thing complete,
But didn't sell the bowl and spoon
We'd used for years before—
We wasn't much on thinning out
Behind the buttery door.

'T would take a week to calkerlate
How many things there was,
From strainer dish to sweetcake knife
That come from Santa Claus;
It makes my penstalk pause
To think they all were used by hands
Whose faithful tasks are o'er—
I guess it's better not to look
Behind the buttery door.





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