When the Frost Is on the Punkin’

Summary


"When the Frost Is on the Punkin'" is a short poem that captures a crisp autumn morning on a Midwestern farm. Turkeys gobble, guinea hens clack, and a rooster struts along the fence as a farmhand steps outside bareheaded to feed the stock. Written in warm rural dialect, the verse lingers on the contentment of a good night's rest and a rising sun. Read it online free and feel the harvest chill.

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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 time 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, bareheaded, and goes out to feed the stock,
When the frost is on the punkin and the fodder’s in the shock.

A farmer feeds the stock at sunrise among frosty pumpkins and turkeys in "When the Frost Is on the Punkin'".

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Credits

James Whitcomb Riley was an American poet of the late 19th century, nicknamed the "Hoosier Poet" for his affectionate verse in Indiana country dialect. This poem is among his best-loved works, and its spelling of "punkin" and "fodder" preserves the speech of the farm folk he grew up around.