The James Hearst Digital Archive

Home » Poetry » Impudence

Impudence

Text of Poem

Rowdy winter wind,
Slobbering snow,
unroofs a gaunt barn
and howls.
This old vacancy
like an empty grave
feels surprised
at nothing.
Even the fields
vowed to pity
close their clover lips
and sleep.
The wind snorts under
a loose wall
in his excitement,
while the old barn
chaste with age
gives him the welcome
of a cracked skull.

First Line
Rowdy winter wind,
Original Pub Location
Original Publication Date
1951
Original Citation
Man and His Field. Denver: Allan Swallow. 1951. 52.
Complete Poems
76
Hearst Collections
Word Count
59
Poetic Form
open
Themes