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 hardly believe my eyes!

    To hear his name called over there,
        My memory thrilled with glee
    And leaped to picture him young and fair
        In youth, as he used to be.

    But looking, only as glad eyes can,
        For the boy I knew of yore,
    I smiled on a portly little man
        I had never seen before! -

    Grave as a judge in courtliness -
        Professor-like and bland -
    A little fat doctor and nothing less,
        With his hat in his kimboed hand.

    But how we talked old times, and "chaffed"
        Each other with "Minnie" and "Jim" - -
    And how the little fat doctor laughed,
        And how I laughed with him!

    "And it's pleasant," I thought, "though I yearn to see
        The face of the youth that was,
    To know no boy could smile on me
        As the little fat doctor does!"

James Whitcomb Riley

James Whitcomb Riley was an American writer, poet, and best-selling author. He was known as the "Hoosier Poet" and the "Children's Poet" for his dialect works and children's poetry respectively. Over his career, Riley authored approximately 1,000 poems, including "Little Orphant Annie" and "The Raggedy Man". His influence extended into the 20th century, and his works continued to be celebrated for their nostalgic and rural themes.

James Whitcomb Riley

My Father's Halls

James Whitcomb Riley, Simple Poetry

When Age Comes On.

James Whitcomb Riley, Simple Poetry

June At Woodruff.

James Whitcomb Riley, Simple Poetry

The Runaway Boy

James Whitcomb Riley, Simple Poetry

English

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At Last

A dark, tempestuous night; the stars shut in
    With shrouds of fog; an inky, jet-black blot
The firmament; and where the moon has been
    An hour agone seems like the darkest spot.
The weird wind - furious at its demon game -
Rattles one's fancy like a window-frame.

A care-worn face peers out into the dark,
    And childish faces - frightened at the gloom -
Grow awed and vacant as they turn to mark
    The father's as he passes through the room:
The gate latch clatters, and wee baby Bess
Whispers, "The doctor's tummin' now, I dess!"

The father turns; a sharp, swift flash of pain
    Flits o'er his face: "Amanda, child! I said
A moment since - I see I must AGAIN -
    Go take your little sisters off to bed!
There, Effie, Rose, and CLARA MUSTN'T C...

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The Funny Little Fellow

'Twas a Funny Little Fellow
Of the very purest type,
For he had a heart as mellow
As an apple over-ripe;
And the brightest little twinkle
When a funny thing occurred,
And the lightest little tinkle
Of a laugh you ever heard!

His smile was like the glitter
Of the sun in tropic lands,
And his talk a sweeter twitter
Than the swallow understands;
Hear him sing - and tell a story -
Snap a joke - ignite a pun, -
'Twas a capture - rapture - glory,
And explosion - all in one!

Though he hadn't any money -
That condiment which tends
To make a fellow "honey"
For the palate of his friends; -
Sweet simples he compounded -
Sovereign antidotes for sin
Or taint, - a faith unbounded
That his friends were genuine.

He was...

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The Old Man

Lo! steadfast and serene,
In patient pause between
The seen and the unseen,
    What gentle zephyrs fan
Your silken silver hair, -
And what diviner air
Breathes round you like a prayer,
    Old Man?

Can you, in nearer view
Of Glory, pierce the blue
Of happy Heaven through;
    And, listening mutely, can
Your senses, dull to us,
Hear Angel-voices thus,
In chorus glorious -
    Old Man?

In your reposeful gaze
The dusk of Autumn days
Is blent with April haze,
    As when of old began
The bursting of the bud
Of rosy babyhood -
When all the world was good,
    Old Man.

And yet I find a sly
Little twinkle in your eye;
And your whisperingly shy
    Little laugh is simply an
Internal shout o...

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Elmer Brown

Awf'lest boy in this-here town
Er anywheres is Elmer Brown!
He'll mock you - yes, an' strangers, too,
An' make a face an' yell at you, -
    "Here's the way you look!"

Yes, an' wunst in School one day,
An' Teacher's lookin' wite that way,
He helt his slate, an' hide his head,
An' maked a face at her, an' said, -
    "Here's the way you look!"

An' sir! when Rosie Wheeler smile
One morning at him 'crosst the aisle,
He twist his face all up, an' black
His nose wiv ink, an' whisper back, -
    "Here's the way you look!"

Wunst when his Aunt's all dressed to call,
An' kiss him good-bye in the hall,
An' latch the gate an' start away,
He holler out to her an' say, -
    "Here's th...

James Whitcomb Riley

The Happy Little Cripple

I'm thist a little cripple boy, an' never goin' to grow
An' get a great big man at all! - 'cause Aunty told me so.
When I was thist a baby onc't, I falled out of the bed
An' got "The Curv'ture of the Spine" - 'at's what the Doctor said.
I never had no Mother nen - fer my Pa runned away
An' dassn't come back here no more - 'cause he was drunk one day
An' stobbed a man in thish-ere town, an' couldn't pay his fine!
An' nen my Ma she died - an' I got "Curv'ture of the Spine!"

I'm nine years old! An' you can't guess how much I weigh, I bet! -
Last birthday I weighed thirty-three! - An' I weigh thirty yet!
I'm awful little fer my size - I'm purt' nigh littler 'nan
Some babies is! - an' neighbers all calls me "The Little Man!"
An' Doc one time he laughed an' said: "I 'spect, first...

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The Little Man In The Tinshop

When I was a little boy, long ago,
And spoke of the theater as the "show,"
The first one that I went to see,
Mother's brother it was took me -
(My uncle, of course, though he seemed to be
Only a boy - I loved him so!)
And ah, how pleasant he made it all!
And the things he knew that I should know! -
The stage, the "drop," and the frescoed wall;
The sudden flash of the lights; and oh,
The orchestra, with its melody,
And the lilt and jingle and jubilee
    Of "The Little Man in the Tinshop"!

For Uncle showed me the "Leader" there,
With his pale, bleak forehead and long, black hair;
Showed me the "Second," and "'Cello," and "Bass,"
And the "B-Flat," pouting and puffing his face
At the little end of the horn he blew
Silvery bubbles of music t...

James Whitcomb Riley