James Whitcomb Riley

Who shall sing a simple ditty about the Willow,
Dainty-fine and delicate as any bending spray That dandles high the dainty bird that flutters there to trill a Tremulously tender song of greeting to the May
Bravest, too, of all the trees<...

Oh
the old swimmin'-hole
whare the crick so still and deep Looked like a baby-river that was laying half asleep, And the gurgle of the worter round the drift jest below Sounded like the laugh of something we onc't ust to know Before we c...

The smiling face of a happy
With its enchanted
Is now unlocking in
My store of heartiest joy

You better not fool with a Bumblebee
— Ef you don't think they can sting — you'll see
They're lazy to look at, an' kind o' go Buzzin' an' bummin' aroun' so slow, An' ac' so slouchy an' all fagged out, Danglin' their legs as they drone ab...

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 Her heart down to me where I worship now
She looms aloft where every eye may see The ripest peach is highes...

Who would beA merman gay,
Singing alone,
Sitting alone,
With a mermaid's knee,

Oh luxury
Beyond the heat And dust of town, with dangling feet Astride the rock below the dam,
In the cool shadows where the calm Rests on the stream again, and all Is silent save the waterfall,— I bait my hook and cast my line,
And...

Your hands--they are strangely fair
O Fair--for the jewels that sparkle there,--Fair--for the witchery of the
That ivory keys alone can tell;
But when their delicate touches

While skies glint bright with bluest light Through clouds that race o'er fields and town,
And leaves go dancing left and right,
And orchard apples tumble down;
While school-girls sweet, in lane or street,

O her beautiful eyes
they are as blue as the dew On the violet's bloom when the morning is new, And the light of their love is the gleam of the sun O'er the meadows of Spring where the quick shadows run: As the morn shirts the mists and the c...

Friends, my heart is half
Of its happiness to-night:
Though your songs are gay and cheery,
And your spirits feather-light,

Little Orphant Annie's come to our house to stay, An' wash the cups an' saucers up, an' brush the crumbs away, An' shoo the chickens off the porch, an' dust the hearth, an' sweep, An' make the fire, an' bake the bread, an' earn her board-an'-keep;...

Granny's come to our house, And ho
my lawzy-daisy
All the childern round the place Is ist a-runnin' crazy
Fetched a cake fer little Jake, And fetched a pie fer Nanny, And fetched a pear fer all the pack That runs to kiss their Grann...

When the lids of dusk are falling O'er the dreamy eyes of day,
And the whippoorwills are calling, And the lesson laid away,--May Mem'ry soft and tender As the prelude of the night,
Bend over you and render As tranquil a delight
...

Her hair was, oh, so dense a
Of darkness, midnight envied her;
And stars grew dimmer in the
To see the glory of her eyes;

O I will walk with you, my lad, whichever way you fare,
You'll have me, too, the side o' you, with heart as light as air;
No care for where the road you take's a-leadin' anywhere,— It can but be a joyful ja'nt whilst you journey there