The Old-home Folks Poem Rhyme Scheme

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Such 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

The Old-home Folks Poem Rhyme Scheme and Analysis

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