Henry Tripp is looking back on the moment he almost left Spoon River. After the bank failed and took his savings, he was worn out and ready to abandon his life and family. At the station, just as the midnight train arrived, two old rivals, Cully Green and Martin Vise, jumped off and began fighting. The brawl drew the police, Henry was held as a witness, and the train left without him. So he stayed and fought out his own unhappy life to the end. He calls Cully his savior, but it is a bitterly ironic kind of salvation. Cully is no hero—he was a coward who backed out of the fight, then drifted through town ashamed and broken. The mood is weary, sardonic, and a little trapped, as if Henry’s whole fate turned on one ugly, pointless brawl.
Henry Tripp — Summary
The bank broke and I lost my savings. I was sick of the tiresome game in Spoon River And I made up my mind to run away And leave my place in life and my family; But just as the midnight train pulled in, Quick off the steps jumped Cully Green And Martin Vise, and began to fight To settle their ancient rivalry, Striking each other with fists that sounded Like the blows of knotted clubs. Now it seemed to me that Cully was winning, When his bloody face broke into a grin Of sickly cowardice, leaning on Martin And whining out “We’re good friends, Mart, You know that I’m your friend.” But a terrible punch from Martin knocked him Around and around and into a heap. And then they arrested me as a witness, And I lost my train and staid in Spoon River To wage my battle of life to the end. Oh, Cully Green, you were my savior— You, so ashamed and drooped for years, Loitering listless about the streets, And tying rags round your festering soul, Who failed to fight it out.