Blind Pig
Every day he sits Outdoors with his chair tipped back, The same old derby And cane; his small eyes blink, Guarding a pig that is blind.
Henrietta Clarke
SourceLicence:Public domain (US, unrenewed)
Every day he sits Outdoors with his chair tipped back, The same old derby And cane; his small eyes blink, Guarding a pig that is blind.
Five short lines give us a single, steady picture: a man who sits outside every day, chair tipped back, wearing the same derby and carrying the same cane. His small eyes blink as he keeps watch over a pig that can't see. The speaker never says what they feel directly. They simply observe, and the plain, almost deadpan tone leaves the feeling to us.
What stands out is the sense of routine and quiet loyalty. The word "same" suggests a man who doesn't change, and the repeated "every day" turns his watching into a kind of duty. There's something gently funny about the scene, since what exactly is there to guard a blind pig from? But the humor softens into tenderness. The man's blinking eyes and the pig's blindness hint at a shared vulnerability, perhaps even a companionship between two creatures who look after each other. The mood is calm, a little comic, and quietly affectionate.