Section: «Poems»
Verse (ancient Greek ὁ στίχος — row, structure), a term in versification used in several meanings:
artistic speech organized by division into rhythmically commensurate segments; poetry in the narrow sense; in particular, it implies the properties of versification of a particular tradition ("antique verse", "Akhmatova's verse", etc.);
a line of poetic text organized according to a certain rhythmic pattern ("My uncle of the most honest rules").
As Created
There's a space for good to bloom inEvery heart of man or woman,--And however wild or human,Or however brimmed with gall,Never heart may beat without..
© James Whitcomb Riley
Let Us Forget
Let us forget. What matters it that weOnce reigned o'er happy realms of long-ago,And talked of love, and let our voices low,And ruled for some brief..
© James Whitcomb Riley
He And I
Just drifting on together--He and I--As through the balmy weatherOf JulyDrift two thistle-tufts imbeddedEach in each--by zephyrs wedded--Touring..
© James Whitcomb Riley
Lullaby
The maple strews the embers of its leavesO'er the laggard swallows nestled 'neath the eaves;And the moody cricket falters in his cry--Baby-bye!--And..
© James Whitcomb Riley
Out Of Nazareth
'He shall sleep unscathed of thievesWho loves Allah and believes.'Thus heard one who shared the tent,In the far-off Orient,Of the Bedouin ben..
© James Whitcomb Riley
My Bride That Is To Be
O soul of mine, look out and seeMy bride, my bride that is to be!Reach out with mad, impatient hands,And draw aside futurityAs one might draw a veil..
© James Whitcomb Riley
A Sudden Shower
Barefooted boys scud up the streetOr skurry under sheltering sheds;And schoolgirl faces, pale and sweet,Gleam from the shawls about their heads.Doors..
© James Whitcomb Riley
A Parent Reprimanded
Sometimes I think 'at Parents doesThings ist about as bad as _us_--Wite 'fore our vurry eyes, at that!Fer one time Pa he scold' my Ma'Cause he can't..
© James Whitcomb Riley
A Noted Traveler
Even in such a scene of senseless playThe children were surprised one summer-dayBy a strange man who called across the fence,Inquiring for their..
© James Whitcomb Riley
Our Kind Of A Man
1The kind of a man for you and me!He faces the world unflinchingly,And smites, as long as the wrong resists,With a knuckled faith and force like..
© James Whitcomb Riley
Fame
IOnce, in a dream, I saw a manWith haggard face and tangled hair,And eyes that nursed as wild a careAs gaunt Starvation ever can;And in his hand he..
© James Whitcomb Riley
A Rough Sketch
I caught, for a second, across the crowd--Just for a second, and barely that--A face, pox-pitted and evil-browed,Hid in the shade of a slouch-rim'd..
© James Whitcomb Riley
Nothin' To Say
Nothin' to say, my daughter! Nothin' at all to say!Gyrls that's in love, I've noticed, ginerly has their way!Yer mother did, afore you, when her..
© James Whitcomb Riley
Nessmuk
I hail thee, Nessmuk, for the lofty toneYet simple grace that marks thy poetry!True forester thou art, and still to be,Even in happier fields than..
© James Whitcomb Riley
Who Santy-Claus Wuz
Jes' a little bit o' feller--I remember still--Ust to almost cry fer Christmas, like a youngster will.Fourth o' July's nothin' to it!--New Year's..
© James Whitcomb Riley
Company Manners
When Bess gave her Dollies a Tea, said she,--'It's unpolite, when they's Company,To say you've drinked _two_ cups, you see,--But say you've drinked..
© James Whitcomb Riley
When She Comes Home
When she comes home again! A thousand waysI fashion, to myself, the tendernessOf my glad welcome: I shall tremble--yes;And touch her, as when first..
© James Whitcomb Riley
How Did You Rest, Last Night?
'How did you rest, last night?'--I've heard my gran'pap sayThem words a thousand times--that's right--Jes them words thataway!As punctchul-like as..
© James Whitcomb Riley
Father William
A NEW VERSION BY LEE O. HARRIS AND JAMESWHITCOMB RILEY'You are old, Father William, and though one would thinkAll the veins in your body were dry,Yet..
© James Whitcomb Riley
Down Around The River
Noon-time and June-time, down around the river!Have to furse with 'Lizey Ann--but lawzy! I fergive her!Drives me off the place, and says 'at all 'at..
© James Whitcomb Riley
The Bumblebee
1 You better not fool with a Bumblebee! --2 Ef you don't think they can sting -- you'll see!3 They're lazy to look at, an' kind o' go4 Buzzin' an'..
© James Whitcomb Riley
Art And Love
He faced his canvas (as a seer whose kenPierces the crust of this existence through)And smiled beyond on that his genius knewEre mated with his..
© James Whitcomb Riley
A Water-Color
Low hidden in among the forest treesAn artist's tilted easel, ankle-deepIn tousled ferns and mosses, and in theseA fluffy water-spaniel, half..
© James Whitcomb Riley
A' Old Played-Out Song
It's the curiousest thing in creation,Whenever I hear that old song,'Do They Miss Me at Home?' I'm so bothered,My life seems as short as it's..
© James Whitcomb Riley
On The Sunny Side
Hi and whoop-hooray, boys!Sing a song of cheer!Here's a holiday, boys,Lasting half a year!Round the world, and half isShadow we have tried;Now we're..
© James Whitcomb Riley