“The Hens” in “Life From Within”
The Hens
The night was coming very fast;
It reached the gate as I ran past.
The pigeon had gone to the tower of the church,
And all the hens were on their perch.
Up in the barn, and I thought I heard
A piece of a little purring word.
I stopped inside, waiting and staying,
To try to hear what the hens were saying.
They were asking something, that was plain,
Asking it over and over again.
One of them moved and turned around,
Her feathers made a ruffled sound,
A ruffled sound like a bushful of birds,
And she said her little asking words!
She pushed her head close into her wing,
But nothing answered anything.
Robert Burns Wilson, painter, watercolor painting of cows and a barn, ca. 1890, Painting Collection, image no. 0020-010-005, Eastern Kentucky University Libraries, Special Collections & Archives. Used with permission from EKU Archives.
About this Poem
By Ella Johnson
“The Hens” shows Roberts’ tendency to reframe the ordinary natural world into a compelling drama. This poem prompts different questions and observations depending on the reader’s interpretation. For instance, the lack of a chick under the hen’s wing could reflect childlessness – but is that tragedy contained to the hen’s circumstances as livestock, or does it speak to larger themes of infertility and child loss? Hens are primarily kept for eggs, and so generally lay unfertilized clutches, contributing more to the idea of bareness. However, the hen’s calling for a chick that does not respond invites the interpretation that the chick is dead, giving credence to the idea that this poem is about child loss.
The second line of the last couplet further adds to the sense of unrest the hen feels. Up until this point the stanzas have followed Roberts’ usual paced, lilting style. Instead, the four words “But nothing answered anything” feels brief and abrupt. While still rhyming with the previous line, it is shorter and more economical in word choice, creating an ominous sense of emptiness.
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