Tom Merritt



At first I suspected something --
She acted so calm and absent-minded.
And one day I heard the back door shut,
As I entered the front, and I saw him slink
Back of the smokehouse into the lot,
And run across the field.
And I meant to kill him on sight.
But that day, walking near Fourth Bridge,
Without a stick or a stone at hand,
All of a sudden I saw him standing,
Scared to death, holding his rabbits,
And all I could say was, "Don't, Don't, Don't,"
As he aimed and fired at my heart.

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Submitted on May 13, 2011

Modified on March 05, 2023

30 sec read
376

Quick analysis:

Scheme ABCADEFGHAIJK
Closest metre Iambic tetrameter
Characters 482
Words 100
Stanzas 1
Stanza Lengths 13

Edgar Lee Masters

Edgar Lee Masters was an American poet, biographer, and dramatist. more…

All Edgar Lee Masters poems | Edgar Lee Masters Books

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    "Tom Merritt" Poetry.com. STANDS4 LLC, 2025. Web. 15 Mar. 2025. <https://www.poetry.com/poem/8733/tom-merritt>.

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