To An Importunate Ghost.

    Get gone, thou most uncomfortable ghost!
        Thou really dost annoy me with thy thin
        Impalpable transparency of grin;
    And the vague, shadowy shape of thee almost
    Hath vext me beyond boundary and coast
        Of my broad patience.    Stay thy chattering chin,
        And reel the tauntings of thy vain tongue in,
    Nor tempt me further with thy vaporish boast
        That I am helpless to combat thee!    Well,
    Have at thee, then!    Yet if a doom most dire
        Thou wouldst escape, flee whilst thou canst! - Revile
    Me not, Miasmic Mist! - Rank Air! retire!
        One instant longer an thou haunt'st me, I'll
    Inhale thee, O thou wraith despicable!

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

When The Hearse Comes Back

James Whitcomb Riley, Simple Poetry

A Backward Look

James Whitcomb Riley, Simple Poetry

The Squirtgun Uncle Maked Me

James Whitcomb Riley, Simple Poetry

The Boy Lives On Our Farm

James Whitcomb Riley, Simple Poetry

English

Suggested Poems

Explore a curated selection of verses that share themes, styles, and emotional resonance with the poem you've just read.

The Bat.

I.

Thou dread, uncanny thing,
With fuzzy breast and leathern wing,
    In mad, zigzagging flight,
Notching the dusk, and buffeting
    The black cheeks of the night,
    With grim delight!



II.

What witch's hand unhasps
    Thy keen claw-cornered wings
    From under the barn roof, and flings
Thee forth, with chattering gasps,
    To scud the air,
And nip the lady-bug, and tear
Her children's hearts out unaware?



III.

The glow-worm's glimmer, and the bright,
Sad pulsings of the fire-fly's light,
    Are banquet lights to thee.
O less than bird, and worse than beast,
Thou Devil's self, or brat, at least,
    Grate not thy teeth at me!

James Whitcomb Riley

Phantasmagoria Canto II ( Hys Fyve Rules )

"My First,but don't suppose," he said,
"I'm setting you a riddle,
Is,if your Victim be in bed,
Don't touch the curtains at his head,
But take them in the middle,

"And wave them slowly in and out,
While drawing them asunder;
And in a minute's time, no doubt,
He'll raise his head and look about
With eyes of wrath and wonder.

"And here you must on no pretence
Make the first observation.
Wait for the Victim to commence:
No Ghost of any common sense
Begins a conversation.

"If he should say 'HOW CAME YOU HERE?'
(The way that YOU began, Sir,)
In such a case your course is clear,
'ON THE BAT'S BACK, MY LITTLE DEAR!'
Is the appropriate answer.

"If after this he says no more,
You'd best perhaps curtail your
Exertions...

Lewis Carroll

The Quiet Lodger.

    The man that rooms next door to me:
            Two weeks ago, this very night,
    He took possession quietly,
        As any other lodger might -
            But why the room next mine should so
            Attract him I was vexed to know, -
            Because his quietude, in fine,
            Was far superior to mine.

    "Now, I like quiet, truth to tell,
        A tranquil life is sweet to me -
    But this," I sneered, "suits me too well. -
        He shuts his door so noiselessly,
            And glides about so very mute,
            In each mysterious pursuit,
            His silence is oppressive, and
            Too deep for me to understand."

    Sometimes, forgetting book or pen,
        I've found my head in breathle...

James Whitcomb Riley

Phantasmagoria Canto I (The Trystyng )

One winter night, at half-past nine,
Cold, tired, and cross, and muddy,
I had come home, too late to dine,
And supper, with cigars and wine,
Was waiting in the study.

There was a strangeness in the room,
And Something white and wavy
Was standing near me in the gloom,
I took it for the carpet-broom
Left by that careless slavey.

But presently the Thing began
To shiver and to sneeze:
On which I said "Come, come, my man!
That's a most inconsiderate plan.
Less noise there, if you please!"

"I've caught a cold," the Thing replies,
"Out there upon the landing."
I turned to look in some surprise,
And there, before my very eyes,
A little Ghost was standing!

He trembled when he caught my eye,
And got behind a chair.
"...

Lewis Carroll

Haunted

Haunted? Ay, in a social way
By a body of ghosts in dread array;
But no conventional spectres they
Appalling, grim, and tricky:
I quail at mine as I'd never quail
At a fine traditional spectre pale,
With a turnip head and a ghostly wail,
And a splash of blood on the dickey!

Mine are horrible, social ghosts,
Speeches and women and guests and hosts,
Weddings and morning calls and toasts,
In every bad variety:
Ghosts who hover about the grave
Of all that's manly, free, and brave:
You'll find their names on the architrave
Of that charnel-house, Society.

Black Monday black as its school-room ink
With its dismal boys that snivel and think
Of its nauseous messes to eat and drink,
And its frozen tank to wash in.
That was the first that ...

William Schwenck Gilbert

Haunted.

Haunted? Ay, in a social way
By a body of ghosts in dread array;
But no conventional spectres they -
Appalling, grim, and tricky:
I quail at mine as I'd never quail
At a fine traditional spectre pale,
With a turnip head and a ghostly wail,
And a splash of blood on the dickey!

Mine are horrible, social ghosts, -
Speeches and women and guests and hosts,
Weddings and morning calls and toasts,
In every bad variety:
Ghosts who hover about the grave
Of all that's manly, free, and brave:
You'll find their names on the architrave
Of that charnel-house, Society.

Black Monday black as its school-room ink -
With its dismal boys that snivel and think
Of its nauseous messes to eat and drink,
And its frozen tank to wash in.
That was the first...

William Schwenck Gilbert