I was Willie Metcalf
They used to call me "Doctor Meyers"
Because, they said, I looked like him.
And he was my father, according to Jack McGuire.
I lived in the livery stable,
Sleeping on the floor
Side by side with Roger Baughman's bulldog,
Or sometimes in a stall.
I could crawl between the legs of the wildest horses
Without getting kicked--we knew each other.
On spring days I tramped through the country
To get the feeling, which I sometimes lost,
That I was not a separate thing from the earth.
I used to lose myself, as if in sleep,
By lying with eyes half-open in the woods.
Sometimes I talked with animals--even toads and snakes--
Anything that had an eye to look into.
Once I saw a stone in the sunshine
Trying to turn into jelly.
In April days in this cemetery
The dead people gathered all about me,
And grew still, like a congregation in silent prayer.
I never knew whether I was a part of the earth
With flowers growing in me, or whether I walked--
Now I know.

1. Explain the last three lines.
2. What kind of life did Willie lead?
3. Why did he live that kind of life?
4. How did (or would) Spoon River react to him?

WILLIE METCALF

"Willie Metcalf" was a real person. His occupation, and his place of residence as well, is a local livery stable. His true name was Charlie Metcalf. He loved horses and said he would walk to Havana if he could ride a horse back.