Poems

Poems List

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James Whitcomb Riley
James Whitcomb Riley

The Sermon Of The Rose

The Sermon Of The Rose

Wilful we are in our infirmity
Of childish questioning and discontent.
Whate'er befalls us is divinely meant--
Thou…

321
James Whitcomb Riley
James Whitcomb Riley

The Same Old Story

The Same Old Story

The same old story told again--
The maiden droops her head,
The ripening glow of her crimson cheek
Is answering in her …

288
James Whitcomb Riley
James Whitcomb Riley

The Rose

The Rose

It tossed its head at the wooing breeze;
And the sun, like a bashful swain,
Beamed on it through the waving trees
With a passion…

344
James Whitcomb Riley
James Whitcomb Riley

The Ripest Peach

The Ripest Peach

The ripest peach is highest on the tree --
And so her love, beyond the reach of me,
Is dearest in my sight. Sweet breezes, bow

381
James Whitcomb Riley
James Whitcomb Riley

The Rapture of the Year

The Rapture of the Year

While skies glint bright with bluest light
Through clouds that race o'er fields and town,
And leaves go dancing left and …

373
James Whitcomb Riley
James Whitcomb Riley

The Rainy Morning

The Rainy Morning

The dawn of the day was dreary,
And the lowering clouds o'erhead
Wept in a silent sorrow
Where the sweet sunshine lay d…

322
James Whitcomb Riley
James Whitcomb Riley

The Raggedy Man

The Raggedy Man

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O the Raggedy Man! He works fer Pa;
An' he's the goodest man ever y…

316
James Whitcomb Riley
James Whitcomb Riley

The Quest

The Quest

I am looking for Love. Has he passed this way,
With eyes as blue as the skies of May,
And a face as fair as the summer dawn?--
Y…

334
James Whitcomb Riley
James Whitcomb Riley

The Pathos Of Applause

The Pathos Of Applause

The greeting of the company throughout
Was like a jubilee,--the children's shout
And fusillading hand-claps, with great gu…

291
James Whitcomb Riley
James Whitcomb Riley

The Pixy People

The Pixy People

It was just a very
Merry fairy dream!--
All the woods were airy
With the gloom and gleam;
Crickets in the clover <…

317
James Whitcomb Riley
James Whitcomb Riley

The Orchard Lands Of Long Ago

The Orchard Lands Of Long Ago

The orchard lands of Long Ago!
O drowsy winds, awake, and blow
The snowy blossoms back to me,
And all the b…

283
James Whitcomb Riley
James Whitcomb Riley

The Old Year And The New

The Old Year And The New

I.
As one in sorrow looks upon
The dead face of a loyal friend,
By the dim light of New Year's dawn
I sa…

286
James Whitcomb Riley
James Whitcomb Riley

The Old Tramp

The Old Tramp

A Old Tramp slep' in our stable wunst,
An' The Raggedy Man he caught
An' roust him up, an' chased him off
Clean out through…

338
James Whitcomb Riley
James Whitcomb Riley

The Old Swimmin' Hole

The Old Swimmin' Hole

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Oh! the old swimmin'-hole! whare the crick so still and deep

318
James Whitcomb Riley
James Whitcomb Riley

The Old Guitar

The Old Guitar

Neglected now is the old guitar
And moldering into decay;
Fretted with many a rift and scar
That the dull dust hides away,…

323
James Whitcomb Riley
James Whitcomb Riley

The Old Home By The Mill

The Old Home By The Mill

This is 'The old Home by the Mill'--far we still call it so,
Although the old mill, roof and sill, is all gone long ago.

299
James Whitcomb Riley
James Whitcomb Riley

The Merman

The Merman

I

Who would be
A merman gay,
Singing alone,
Sitting alone,
With a mermaid's knee,
For instance…

283
James Whitcomb Riley
James Whitcomb Riley

The Nine Little Goblins

The Nine Little Goblins

They all climbed up on a high board-fence--
Nine little Goblins, with green-glass eyes--
Nine little Goblins that had no se…

271
James Whitcomb Riley
James Whitcomb Riley

The Lost Kiss

The Lost Kiss

I put by the half-written poem,
While the pen, idly trailed in my hand,
Writes on--, 'Had I words to complete it,
Who'd rea…

298
James Whitcomb Riley
James Whitcomb Riley

The Lost Thrill

The Lost Thrill

I grow so weary, someway, of all things
That love and loving have vouchsafed to me,
Since now all dreamed-of sweets of ecstasy

315
James Whitcomb Riley
James Whitcomb Riley

The Little Town O' Tailholt

The Little Town O' Tailholt

You kin boast about yer cities, and their stiddy growth and size,
And brag about yer County-seats, and business enterprise, <…

279
James Whitcomb Riley
James Whitcomb Riley

The Little Fat Doctor

The Little Fat Doctor

He seemed so strange to me, every way--
In manner, and form, and size,
From the boy I knew but yesterday,--
I could h…

258
James Whitcomb Riley
James Whitcomb Riley

The Legend Glorified

The Legend Glorified

'I deem that God is not disquieted'--
This in a mighty poet's rhymes I read;
And blazoned so forever doth abide
Withi…

275
James Whitcomb Riley
James Whitcomb Riley

The Katydids

The Katydids

Sometimes I keep
From going to sleep,
To hear the katydids 'cheep-cheep!'
And think they say
Their prayers that way;…

294