22 THE OLD OAKEN BUCKET

How dear to my heart are the scenes of my childhood,

When fond recollection presents them to view!

The orchard, the meadow, the deep tangled wild-wood,

And every loved spot which my infancy knew;

The wide-spreading pond, and the mill that stood by it;

The bridge and the rock where the cataract fell;

The cot of my father, the dairy-house nigh it.

And e’en the rude bucket which hung in the well —

The old oaken bucket, the iron-bound bucket,

The moss-covered bucket which hung in the well.

That moss-covered vessel I hail as a treasure;

For often, at noon, when returned from the field,

I found it the source of an exquisite pleasure,

The purest and sweetest that nature can yield.

How ardent I seized it, with hands that were glowing.

And quick to the white-pebbled bottom it fell;

Then soon, with the emblem of truth overflowing,

And dripping with coolness, it rose from the well —

The old oaken bucket, the iron-bound bucket,

The moss-covered bucket arose from the well.

How sweet from the green mossy brim to receive it,

As, poised on the curb, it inclined to my lips!

Not a full, blushing goblet could tempt me to leave it,

Though filled with the nectar which Jupiter sips;

And now, far removed from thy loved situation,

The tear of regret will intrusively swell,

As fancy reverts to my father’s plantation,

And sighs for the bucket which hangs in the well —

The old oaken bucket, the iron-bound bucket,

The moss-covered bucket which hangs in the well.

( Samuel Woodworth )

Biography

Samuel Woodworth (1785-1842), an American poet and editor, was born in Scituate, Massachusetts. He was a printer by trade, and became associated with George P. Morris, author of “Woodman, Spare That Tree,”in a number of newspapers in New York City. He wrote several patriotic songs, but of all his writings “The Old Oaken Bucket” is best known.

Word list

cot : a simple bed

yield : to produce

You Practice

Answer the following questions.

1) Why do you think the poet’s scenes of childhood are so dear to him?

2) How does he describe the bucket?

3) When did the boy find the greatest pleasure in the old oakenbucket?

4) How did the boy drink from the bucket?

5) Have you ever seen the kind of well and bucket described in this poem?