The Pasture by Robert Frost

Full Text

I'm going out to clean the pasture spring;
I'll only stop to rake the leaves away
(And wait to watch the water clear, I may):
I shan't be gone long.—You come too.

I'm going out to fetch the little calf
That's standing by the mother. It's so young,
It totters when she licks it with her tongue.
I shan't be gone long.—You come too.

Overview

A quiet invitation that turns ordinary farm tasks into an offering of companionship.

Line-by-Line Analysis

Lines 1-4

The speaker reassures the listener and invites them into a small, attentive ritual with nature.

Lines 5-8

The calf scene adds tenderness, and the invitation is repeated to close the poem.

Themes

• Companionship
• Domestic labor
• Nature
• Tenderness

Literary Devices

Refrain

You come too — The repeated invitation creates warmth and inclusion.

Imagery

water clear... little calf — Simple, concrete details ground the poem.

Historical Context

Frost often framed rural chores as moments of intimacy and reflection in early 20th-century New England.