Poems

Poems List

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James Whitcomb Riley
James Whitcomb Riley

The Jaybird

The Jaybird

The Jaybird he's my _favorite_
Of all the birds they is!
I think he's quite a stylish sight
In that blue suit of his:
An' when he…

265
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;
But _…

301
James Whitcomb Riley
James Whitcomb Riley

The Home-Going

The Home-Going

We must get home--for we have been away
So long it seems forever and a day!
And O so very homesick we have grown,
The laughter of th…

371
James Whitcomb Riley
James Whitcomb Riley

The Hoosier Folk-Child

The Hoosier Folk-Child

The Hoosier Folk-Child--all unsung--
Unlettered all of mind and tongue;
Unmastered, unmolested--made
Most wholly frank and un…

365
James Whitcomb Riley
James Whitcomb Riley

The Harp Of The Minstrel

The Harp Of The Minstrel

The harp of the minstrel has never a tone
As sad as the song in his bosom to-night,
For the magical touch of his fingers alone <…

270
James Whitcomb Riley
James Whitcomb Riley

The Hereafter

The Hereafter

Hereafter! O we need not waste
Our smiles or tears, whatever befall:
No happiness but holds a taste
Of something sweeter, after all;-…

282
James Whitcomb Riley
James Whitcomb Riley

The Good, Old-Fashioned People

The Good, Old-Fashioned People

When we hear Uncle Sidney tell
About the long-ago
An' old, old friends he loved so well
When _he_ was young--My-oh!-…

285
James Whitcomb Riley
James Whitcomb Riley

The Frog

The Frog

Who am I but the Frog--the Frog!
My realm is the dark bayou,
And my throne is the muddy and moss-grown log
That the poison-vine clings to-…

268
James Whitcomb Riley
James Whitcomb Riley

The Drum

The Drum

O the drum!
There is some
Intonation in thy grum
Monotony of utterance that strikes the spirit dumb,
As we hear
Through the cl…

281
James Whitcomb Riley
James Whitcomb Riley

The Days Gone By

The Days Gone By

O the days gone by! O the days gone by!
The apples in the orchard, and the pathway through the rye;
The chirrup of the robin, and the wh…

267
James Whitcomb Riley
James Whitcomb Riley

The Circus-Day Parade

The Circus-Day Parade

Oh, the Circus-Day parade! How the bugles played and played!
And how the glossy horses tossed their flossy manes, and neighed,
As t…

309
James Whitcomb Riley
James Whitcomb Riley

The Curse Of The Wandering Foot

The Curse Of The Wandering Foot

All hope of rest withdrawn me?--
What dread command hath put
This awful curse upon me--
The curse of the wandering fo…

279
James Whitcomb Riley
James Whitcomb Riley

The Chant Of The Cross-Bearing Child

The Chant Of The Cross-Bearing Child

I bear dis cross dis many a mile.
O de cross-bearin' chile--
De cross-bearin' chile!


I bear dis cro…

243
James Whitcomb Riley
James Whitcomb Riley

The Brook-Song

The Brook-Song

Little brook! Little brook!
You have such a happy look--
Such a very merry manner, as you swerve and
curve and crook--
And your …

303
James Whitcomb Riley
James Whitcomb Riley

The Boys

The Boys

Where are they?--the friends of my childhood enchanted--
The clear, laughing eyes looking back in my own,
And the warm, chubby fingers my palms h…

337
James Whitcomb Riley
James Whitcomb Riley

The Boy Lives On Our Farm

The Boy Lives On Our Farm

The boy lives on our Farm, he's not
Afeard o' horses none!
An' he can make 'em lope, er trot,
Er rack, er pace, er run. <…

313
James Whitcomb Riley
James Whitcomb Riley

The Blossoms On The Trees

The Blossoms On The Trees

Blossoms crimson, white, or blue,
Purple, pink, and every hue,
From sunny skies, to tintings drowned
In dusky drops of de…

344
James Whitcomb Riley
James Whitcomb Riley

The Best is Good Enough

The Best is Good Enough

I quarrel not with destiny,
But make the best of everything-
The best is good enough for me.


Leave discontent al…

293
James Whitcomb Riley
James Whitcomb Riley

The Ancient Printman

The Ancient Printman

'O Printerman of sallow face,
And look of absent guile,
Is it the 'copy' on your 'case'
That causes you to smile?
Or is …

297
James Whitcomb Riley
James Whitcomb Riley

The Bat

The Bat

I.
Thou dread, uncanny thing,
With fuzzy breast and leathern wing,
In mad, zigzagging flight,
Notching the dusk, and buffeting
…

314
James Whitcomb Riley
James Whitcomb Riley

Thanksgiving

Thanksgiving


Let us be thankful--not only because
Since last our universal thanks were told
We have grown greater in the world's applause,
An…

269
James Whitcomb Riley
James Whitcomb Riley

Song Of The New Year

Song Of The New Year

I heard the bells at midnight
Ring in the dawning year;
And above the clanging chorus
Of the song, I seemed to hear
A ch…

294
James Whitcomb Riley
James Whitcomb Riley

Some Scattering Remarks Of Bub's

Some Scattering Remarks Of Bub's

Wunst I looked our pepper-box lid
An' cut little pie-dough biscuits, I did,
And cooked 'em on our stove one day
Wh…

266
James Whitcomb Riley
James Whitcomb Riley

Song

Song


'Why do I sing--Tra-la-la-la-la!
Glad as a King?--Tra-la-la-la-la!
Well, since you ask,--
I have such a pleasant task,
I can not he…

255