A child slips away across a pasture when no one is watching, passes the cattle barns, and climbs a small crooked tree. From that hidden perch, the speaker looks down on a cornfield and sees how the rows stretch across the world, straight and even. There is a quiet thrill in being alone and unnoticed, and the view turns something familiar into a wonder. The corn seems to open outward like a fan, far away and repeating, and the speaker wonders whether the farmer himself understands the full shape and beauty of what he has planted. The mood is peaceful, secretive, and curious—less about farming than about the private joy of seeing a pattern in the landscape for the first time. The poem captures a child’s sense of discovery, where climbing one crooked tree can make the whole world feel newly arranged.
The Cornfield — Summary
I went across the pasture lot When not a one was watching me. Away beyond the cattle barns I climbed a little crooked tree.
And I could look down on the field And see the corn and how it grows Across the world and up and down In very straight and even rows.
And far away and far away-- I wonder if the farmer man Knows all about the corn and how It comes together like a fan.