James Whitcomb Riley (7 October 1849 –22 July 1916 / Greenfield, Indiana)

In this poem, we feel the poet and the boy are from two different world. Through his depiction of this coarse, happy boy, we can feel the poet's personality: passimistic, elegant, worried...He can't understand the mind of this kind of people who are simple and happy. He appreciate them yet is a little bit jealous of them. In the end of the poem, the boy's toe-nail is knocked back, I think the poet want to say, a person with a simple mind is happy indeed, but his would cause you trouble, makes you unfortunate.

Poet feels envious at the sight of a boy's joy despite many drawbacks on him including the nail knocked back of his toe like an old pocket book! Indeed joy has no connection with wealth or knowledge in the world except pure heart to enjoy and wonder at the things of nature!

it just takes, a smile of a child, to shoot all my pain away..
But here Iam not able to understand,
Why the Poet is envious?

It just takes, a smile of a child, to shoot all my pain away..
But I am not able to understand why the poet is 'envious'

Let me pose this question - When is a metaphor NOT a metaphor?

A metaphor is NOT a metaphor when it is in fact a simile!

Both 'metaphor' and 'simile' are figures of speech. A metaphor is an implied analogy which imaginatively identifies one object with another. A simile is a fgure of speech in which a similarity between two objects is directly expressed, as in James Whitcomb Riley's
'... his big toe-nail knocked back
Like unto the clasp of an old pocketbook.'
One doesn't read a POCKETBOOK (as Linda Terrell says) , one keeps loose change and stuff in it for safekeeping and convenience! Most similes are introduced by AS or LIKE. Please read lines 13 and 14 closely. Strike me dead if the preposition that introduces the explicit comparison of a CLASP (a brass clip) with the Barefoot Boy's flapping big toe-nail as he ambles along the path is part and parcel of the image that makes up the simile.

Mr. Riley's poems are always wonderful! CY

A wonderful representation of childhood.Absolutely entranced.

This poem presents a very good expression of a poor boy whose trousers is rolled half to knee. The language is simple but rich in conveying its message.

He gives such vivid descriptions of the boy. The even must have made a real impression on him.

Kevin the clasp book, , , , and I may be wrong....but I believe it is like a book that has a clasp on it to lock like a diary.. It would flip back and only attatched to one side of the book as the toenail would have flew back like the clasp on the book.
I had a diary back in the 50's that had a lock on it but to push the button it hooked and unhooked without a lock...When the book was open the clasp flipped and flopped. Hope this helps...