A Barefoot Boy Comments

/, /, / Lead kindly into the night with hubby aright be faithful all night and life be a good wife nothing and no one but your husband is right he will take care of you only if you always lead him KINDLY into the night till twilight all your life and I was right me poet yeps poet

, , , , , , , , , , , , , Lead Kindly Into The Night - Poem by me poet yeps poet I once composed LEAD GENTLY INTO THE NIGHT A poem for a Virgin who was always afraid of a man was married and taken away to a far off land she had none of her trusted ones at hand thus me poet yeps poet

Yesterday Years: Eternal Childhood Fleeting this is the dream childhood to play endlessly during eternal summer days to barefoot explore get indifferent dirty delight in adventures imagination interacting with internalized nature swimming carefree days like an otter orbits waters leaping from bank to streams surface to depth wonders before adulthood responsibilities cage close opportunity windows Copyright © Terence George Craddock Inspired by the poem 'A Barefoot Boy' by James Whitcomb Riley. Dedicated to the poet James Whitcomb Riley.

This is the dream childhood, to play endlessly during summer days, to barefoot explore, get dirty, delight in adventures of imagination interacting with nature, swimming carefree days before responsibilities of adulthood, beautifully written.

The Great Child's Poet! I lived in his home town for years as a younger man. I've always pictured him sitting upon his porch on a warming summer day, as I suppose was most customary in his day, as perchance neighbor children out to play, might slovenly come round his way. And he with great authority might say, the things that make them boys at play....

The poet has poured all his soul.

The poet is drawing mere comparisons between the sound produced by the barefoot boy's toe-nails and that produced when those who have pocketbook clasp on it; the poet isn't saying this has one. The poet closed his with a simile, not a metaphor. This poem is the epitome of an imagery - the poet creates in the reader's mind the scenes surrounding this boy at moments, from the start of the poem to the endings.

Words run before eyes and tragically shaped......... super

Alas, today no change since yesterday, the barefoot boys and girls kicking pocket books up into the air to nowhere to nothing while, half enviously men look on

Don't mean dog eared, rather flipped back clasp of the pages of the notebook. A great last line to the metaphoric theme of the poem as a whole

He has read between the lines of the marks on the boys body, the toe mail is floppy back like an open clasp on the loose pages of a notebook. I think it is a great last line in the metaphoric feel of the poem as a whole!

This child has nothing to do with pocket books. A pocket book is the possession of a well-off conventional citizen. A pocket book contains the name, address and telephone number of the owner and money, perhaps a picture of the wife and children, and, above all, money. A silly pointless metaphor which cannot be defended. A pulled back nail is savage, untamed, careless of everything a pocket book indicates. It is interesting that most people who comment on this site cannot bring themselves to comment adversely about a poem.

To the clasp of an old pocket book. Childhood scars do make the best event recorders. but we cant live like that forever. And how lofty of Riley to remind us of this. And which is better, a pocketboook or pulled back toenails. lol. :)

I might have said this before but the old pocket book metaphor seems entirely out of place in a picture of this Huckleberry Finn.

Poet feels envious at the sight of a boy's joy despite many drawbacks on him including the nail knocked back of his toe like an old pocket book! Indeed joy has no connection with wealth or knowledge in the world except pure heart to enjoy and wonder at the things of nature!

it just takes, a smile of a child, to shoot all my pain away.. But here Iam not able to understand, Why the Poet is envious?

It just takes, a smile of a child, to shoot all my pain away.. But I am not able to understand why the poet is 'envious'

Let me pose this question - When is a metaphor NOT a metaphor? A metaphor is NOT a metaphor when it is in fact a simile! Both 'metaphor' and 'simile' are figures of speech. A metaphor is an implied analogy which imaginatively identifies one object with another. A simile is a fgure of speech in which a similarity between two objects is directly expressed, as in James Whitcomb Riley's '... his big toe-nail knocked back Like unto the clasp of an old pocketbook.' One doesn't read a POCKETBOOK (as Linda Terrell says) , one keeps loose change and stuff in it for safekeeping and convenience! Most similes are introduced by AS or LIKE. Please read lines 13 and 14 closely. Strike me dead if the preposition that introduces the explicit comparison of a CLASP (a brass clip) with the Barefoot Boy's flapping big toe-nail as he ambles along the path is part and parcel of the image that makes up the simile.

Mr. Riley's poems are always wonderful! CY

A wonderful representation of childhood.Absolutely entranced.