backroad leafmold stonewall chipmunk
underbrush grapevine woodchuck shadblow

woodsmoke cowbarn honeysuckle woodpile
sawhorse bucksaw outhouse wellsweep

backdoor flagstone bulkhead buttermilk
candlestick ragrug firedog brownbread

hilltop outcrop cowbell buttercup
whetstone thunderstorm pitchfork steeplebush

gristmill millstone cornmeal waterwheel
watercress buckwheat firefly jewelweed

gravestone groundpine windbreak bedrock
weathercock snowfall starlight cockcrow

Analysis, meaning and summary of Robert Francis's poem Silent Poem

2 Comments

  1. Andrew Trezise says:

    Hey! I like Silent Poem a lot. It’s set in New England acc. to Francis. Every word is a noun. Silence sits between each word, it is forty words. It simply evokes a rustic farm setting: the critters, the industry, the interior, exterior. Is it a shape poem too? A grid? A gate? You decide. Is title ironical? I think so.

  2. Clarke Fry says:

    This poem is amazing. I’m 16 and this might be the first published poem ever that I’ve read and felt like I could have written the same thing. I don’t understand what the heck it’s supposed to mean though.

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