The Pigs and the Charcoal-burner

Walter de la Mare 1873 (Charlton, London) – 1956 (Twickenham)



The old Pig said to the little pigs,
'In the forest is truffles and mast,
Follow me then, all ye little pigs,
Follow me fast!'

The Charcoal-burner sat in the shade
With his chin oil his thumb,
And saw the big Pig and the little pigs
Chuffling come.

He watched 'neath a green and giant bough,
And the pigs in the ground
Made a wonderful grisling and gruzzling
And greedy sound.

And when, full-fed, they were gone, and Night
Walked her starry ways,
He stared with his cheeks in his hands
At his sullen blaze.

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Submitted on May 13, 2011

Modified on April 13, 2023

29 sec read
80

Quick analysis:

Scheme ABAB XCAC XDXD XEXE
Closest metre Iambic tetrameter
Characters 499
Words 98
Stanzas 4
Stanza Lengths 4, 4, 4, 4

Walter de la Mare

Walter John de la Mare was an English poet short story writer and novelist best remembered for his works for children and The Listeners He was born in Kent and was educated at St Pauls Cathedral School His first book Songs of Childhood was published under the name Walter Ramal His 1921 novel Memoirs of a Midget won the James Tait Black Memorial Prize for fiction more…

All Walter de la Mare poems | Walter de la Mare Books

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