The Old-home Folks Poem Rhyme Scheme and Analysis
Rhyme Scheme: AABBCCDDE FFGHIIJJKKLLIIMM NOFFKKAA PPQQRRSSTTUUVVWWXXYY ZYYYKA2 B2C2C2YY AD2A2D2 E2F2B2F2 OOG2G2H2D2OOI2I2KKYY YYYYD2D2J2J2K2K2YYYY L2L2Y K2 YYE2M2N2O2IP2YYYYY YYQ2Q2R2R2D2D2 AAYYS2S2MT2YYU2U2YYV 2V2YYYYYYKK N2O2W2W2V2V2YYX2X2Y2 Y2Z2Z2A3A3 B3WSSU2U2X2X2KK F2F2B3Such was the Child World of the long ago | A |
The little world these children used to know | A |
Johnty the oldest and the best perhaps | B |
Of the five happy little Hoosier chaps | B |
Inhabiting this wee world all their own | C |
Johnty the leader with his native tone | C |
Of grave command a general on parade | D |
Whose each punctilious order was obeyed | D |
By his proud followers | E |
- | |
But Johnty yet | F |
After all serious duties could forget | F |
The gravity of life to the extent | G |
At times of kindling much astonishment | H |
About him With a quick observant eye | I |
And mind and memory he could supply | I |
The tamest incident with liveliest mirth | J |
And at the most unlooked for times on earth | J |
Was wont to break into some travesty | K |
On those around him feats of mimicry | K |
Of this one's trick of gesture that one's walk | L |
Or this one's laugh or that one's funny talk | L |
The way 'the watermelon man' would try | I |
His humor on town folks that wouldn't buy | I |
How he drove into town at morning then | M |
At dusk alas how he drove out again | M |
- | |
Though these divertisements of Johnty's were | N |
Hailed with a hearty glee and relish there | O |
Appeared a sense on his part of regret | F |
A spirit of remorse that would not let | F |
Him rest for days thereafter Such times he | K |
As some boy said 'jist got too overly | K |
Blame good fer common boys like us you know | A |
To ' so ciate with less'n we 'ud go | A |
And jine his church ' | - |
- | |
Next after Johnty came | P |
His little tow head brother Bud by name | P |
And O how white his hair was and how thick | Q |
His face with freckles and his ears how quick | Q |
And curious and intrusive And how pale | R |
The blue of his big eyes and how a tale | R |
Of Giants Trolls or Fairies bulged them still | S |
Bigger and bigger and when 'Jack' would kill | S |
The old 'Four headed Giant ' Bud's big eyes | T |
Were swollen truly into giant size | T |
And Bud was apt in make believes would hear | U |
His Grandma talk or read with such an ear | U |
And memory of both subject and big words | V |
That he would take the book up afterwards | V |
And feign to 'read aloud ' with such success | W |
As caused his truthful elders real distress | W |
But he must have big words they seemed to give | X |
Extremer range to the superlative | X |
That was his passion 'My Gran'ma ' he said | Y |
One evening after listening as she read | Y |
Some heavy old historical review | Z |
With copious explanations thereunto | Y |
Drawn out by his inquiring turn of mind | Y |
'My Gran'ma she's read all books ever' kind | Y |
They is 'at tells all 'bout the land an' sea | K |
An' Nations of the Earth An' she is the | A2 |
Historicul est woman ever wuz ' | - |
Forgive the verse's chuckling as it does | B2 |
In its erratic current Oftentimes | C2 |
The little willowy waterbrook of rhymes | C2 |
Must falter in its music listening to | Y |
The children laughing as they used to do | Y |
- | |
Who shall sing a simple ditty all about the Willow | A |
Dainty fine and delicate as any bending spray | D2 |
That dandles high the happy bird that flutters there to trill a | A2 |
Tremulously tender song of greeting to the May | D2 |
- | |
Ah my lovely Willow Let the Waters lilt your graces | E2 |
They alone with limpid kisses lave your leaves above | F2 |
Flashing back your sylvan beauty and in shady places | B2 |
Peering up with glimmering pebbles like the eyes of love | F2 |
- | |
Next Maymie with her hazy cloud of hair | O |
And the blue skies of eyes beneath it there | O |
Her dignified and 'little lady' airs | G2 |
Of never either romping up the stairs | G2 |
Or falling down them thoughtful everyway | H2 |
Of others first The kind of child at play | D2 |
That 'gave up ' for the rest the ripest pear | O |
Or peach or apple in the garden there | O |
Beneath the trees where swooped the airy swing | I2 |
She pushing it too glad for anything | I2 |
Or in the character of hostess she | K |
Would entertain her friends delightfully | K |
In her play house with strips of carpet laid | Y |
Along the garden fence within the shade | Y |
Of the old apple trees where from next yard | Y |
Came the two dearest friends in her regard | Y |
The little Crawford girls Ella and Lu | Y |
As shy and lovely as the lilies grew | Y |
In their idyllic home yet sometimes they | D2 |
Admitted Bud and Alex to their play | D2 |
Who did their heavier work and helped them fix | J2 |
To have a 'Festibul' and brought the bricks | J2 |
And built the 'stove ' with a real fire and all | K2 |
And stovepipe joint for chimney looming tall | K2 |
And wonderfully smoky even to | Y |
Their childish aspirations as it blew | Y |
And swooped and swirled about them till their sight | Y |
Was feverish even as their high delight | Y |
Then Alex with his freckles and his freaks | L2 |
Of temper and the peach bloom of his cheeks | L2 |
And ' amber colored hair' his mother said | Y |
'Twas that when others laughed and called it ' red ' | - |
And Alex threw things at them till they'd call | K2 |
A truce agreeing ''t'uz n't red ut tall ' | - |
- | |
But Alex was affectionate beyond | Y |
The average child and was extremely fond | Y |
Of the paternal relatives of his | E2 |
Of whom he once made estimate like this | M2 |
' I'm only got two brothers but my Pa | N2 |
He's got most brothers'n you ever saw | O2 |
He's got seben brothers Yes an' they're all my | I |
Seben Uncles Uncle John an' Jim an' I' | P2 |
Got Uncle George an' Uncle Andy too | Y |
An' Uncle Frank an' Uncle Joe An' you | Y |
Know Uncle Mart An' all but him they're great | Y |
Big mens An' nen s Aunt Sarah she makes eight | Y |
I'm got eight uncles 'cept Aunt Sarah can't | Y |
Be ist my uncle 'cause she's ist my aunt ' | - |
- | |
Then next to Alex and the last indeed | Y |
Of these five little ones of whom you read | Y |
Was baby Lizzie with her velvet lisp | Q2 |
As though her Elfin lips had caught some wisp | Q2 |
Of floss between them as they strove with speech | R2 |
Which ever seemed just in yet out of reach | R2 |
Though what her lips missed her dark eyes could say | D2 |
With looks that made her meaning clear as day | D2 |
- | |
And knowing now the children you must know | A |
The father and the mother they loved so | A |
The father was a swarthy man black eyed | Y |
Black haired and high of forehead and beside | Y |
The slender little mother seemed in truth | S2 |
A very king of men since from his youth | S2 |
To his hale manhood now worthy as then | M |
A lawyer and a leading citizen | T2 |
Of the proud little town and county seat | Y |
His hopes his neighbors' and their fealty sweet | Y |
He had known outdoor labor rain and shine | U2 |
Bleak Winter and bland Summer foul and fine | U2 |
So Nature had ennobled him and set | Y |
Her symbol on him like a coronet | Y |
His lifted brow and frank reliant face | V2 |
Superior of stature as of grace | V2 |
Even the children by the spell were wrought | Y |
Up to heroics of their simple thought | Y |
And saw him trim of build and lithe and straight | Y |
And tall almost as at the pasture gate | Y |
The towering ironweed the scythe had spared | Y |
For their sakes when The Hired Man declared | Y |
It would grow on till it became a tree | K |
With cocoanuts and monkeys in maybe | K |
- | |
Yet though the children in their pride and awe | N2 |
And admiration of the father saw | O2 |
A being so exalted even more | W2 |
Like adoration was the love they bore | W2 |
The gentle mother Her mild plaintive face | V2 |
Was purely fair and haloed with a grace | V2 |
And sweetness luminous when joy made glad | Y |
Her features with a smile or saintly sad | Y |
As twilight fell the sympathetic gloom | X2 |
Of any childish grief or as a room | X2 |
Were darkened suddenly the curtain drawn | Y2 |
Across the window and the sunshine gone | Y2 |
Her brow below her fair hair's glimmering strands | Z2 |
Seemed meetest resting place for blessing hands | Z2 |
Or holiest touches of soft finger tips | A3 |
And little roseleaf cheeks and dewy lips | A3 |
- | |
Though heavy household tasks were pitiless | B3 |
No little waist or coat or checkered dress | W |
But knew her needle's deftness and no skill | S |
Matched hers in shaping pleat or flounce or frill | S |
Or fashioning in complicate design | U2 |
All rich embroideries of leaf and vine | U2 |
With tiniest twining tendril bud and bloom | X2 |
And fruit so like one's fancy caught perfume | X2 |
And dainty touch and taste of them to see | K |
Their semblance wrought in such rare verity | K |
- | |
Shrined in her sanctity of home and love | F2 |
And love's fond service and reward thereof | F2 |
Restore her thus | B3 |
James Whitcomb Riley
(1)
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