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").
Thomas The Pretender
Tommy's alluz playin' jokes,An' actin' up, an' foolin' folks;An' wunst one time he creepIn Pa's big chair, he did, one night,An' squint an' shut his..
© James Whitcomb Riley
Thinkin' Back
I've ben thinkin' back, of late,S'prisin'!--And I'm here to stateI'm suspicious it's a signOf _age_, maybe, or declineOf my faculties,--and yitI'm..
© James Whitcomb Riley
What Chris'Mas Fetched The Wigginses
Wintertime, er Summertime,Of late years I notice I'm,Kindo'-like, more subjec' toWhat the _weather_ is. Now, youFolks 'at lives in town, I..
© James Whitcomb Riley
The Hereafter
Hereafter! O we need not wasteOur smiles or tears, whatever befall:No happiness but holds a tasteOf something sweeter, after all;--No depth of agony..
© James Whitcomb Riley
The Harp Of The Minstrel
The harp of the minstrel has never a toneAs sad as the song in his bosom to-night,For the magical touch of his fingers aloneCan not waken the echoes..
© James Whitcomb Riley
The Dead Lover
Time is so long when a man is dead!Some one sews; and the room is madeVery clean; and the light is shedSoft through the window-shade.Yesterday I..
© James Whitcomb Riley
The Katydids
Sometimes I keepFrom going to sleep,To hear the katydids 'cheep-cheep!'And think they sayTheir prayers that way;But _katydids_ don't have to _pray_!I..
© James Whitcomb Riley
The Jolly Miller
It was a Jolly Miller lived on the River Dee;He looked upon his piller, and there he found a flea:'O Mr. Flea! you have bit' me,And you shall shorely..
© James Whitcomb Riley
The Jaybird
The Jaybird he's my _favorite_Of all the birds they is!I think he's quite a stylish sightIn that blue suit of his:An' when he' lights an' shuts his..
© James Whitcomb Riley
The Hired Man And Floretty
The Hired Man's supper, which he sat before,In near reach of the wood-box, the stove-doorAnd one leaf of the kitchen-table, wasSomewhat belated, and..
© James Whitcomb Riley
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 logThat the poison-vine clings to--And the..
© James Whitcomb Riley
The Little Coat
Here's his ragged 'roundabout';Turn the pockets inside out:See; his pen-knife, lost to use,Rusted shut with apple-juice;Here, with marbles, top and..
© James Whitcomb Riley
The Loehrs And The Hammonds
'Hey, Bud! O Bud!' rang out a gleeful call,--'_The Loehrs is come to your house!_' And a smallBut very much elated little chap,In snowy linen-suit..
© James Whitcomb Riley
The Old Days
The old days--the far days--The overdear and fair!--The old days--the lost days--How lovely they were!The old days of Morning,With the dew-drench on..
© James Whitcomb Riley
The Mulberry Tree
It's many's the scenes which is dear to my mindAs I think of my childhood so long left behind;The home of my birth, with it's old puncheon-floor,And..
© James Whitcomb Riley
The Wandering Jew
The stars are falling, and the skyIs like a field of faded flowers;The winds on weary wings go by;The moon hides, and the tempest lowers;And still..
© James Whitcomb Riley
The Twins
One 's the pictur' of his Pa,And the _other_ of her Ma--Jes the bossest pair o' babies 'at a mortal ever saw!And we love 'em as the beesLoves the..
© James Whitcomb Riley
The Tree-Toad
''Scurious-like,' said the tree-toad,'I've twittered far rain all day;And I got up soon,And I hollered till noon--But the sun, hit blazed away,Till I..
© James Whitcomb Riley
The Town Karnteel
The Town Karnteel--! It's who'll revealIts praises jushtifiable?For who can sing av anythingSo lovely and reliable?Whin Summer, Spring, or Winter..
© James Whitcomb Riley
The Touches Of Her Hand
The touches of her hands are like the fallOf velvet snowflakes; like the touch of downThe peach just brushes 'gainst the garden wall;The flossy..
© James Whitcomb Riley
The Stepmother
First she come to our house,Tommy run and hid;And Emily and Bob and meWe cried jus' like we didWhen Mother died,--and we all said'At we all wisht 'at..
© James Whitcomb Riley
The Squirtgun Uncle Maked Me
Uncle Sidney, when he wuz here,Maked me a squirtgun out o' someElder-bushes 'at growed out nearWhere wuz the brickyard--'way out clearTo where the..
© James Whitcomb Riley
The Shoemaker
Thou Poet, who, like any lark,Dost whet thy beak and trillFrom misty morn till murky dark,Nor ever pipe thy fill:Hast thou not, in thy cheery..
© James Whitcomb Riley
The Singer
While with Ambition's hectic flameHe wastes the midnight oil,And dreams, high-throned on heights of fame,To rest him from his toil,--Death's Angel..
© James Whitcomb Riley
The Silent Victors
MAY 30, 1878,Dying for victory, cheer on cheerThundered on his eager ear.--CHARLES L. HOLSTEIN.IDeep, tender, firm and true, the Nation's heartThrobs..
© James Whitcomb Riley