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Poem by Henry Van Dyke


To James Whitcomb Riley


On his ”Book of Joyous Children”

Yours is a garden of old-fashioned flowers;
Joyous children delight to play there;
Weary men find rest in its bowers,
Watching the lingering light of day there.

Old-time tunes and young love’s laughter
Ripple and run among the roses;
Memory’s echoes, murmuring after,
Fill the dusk when the long day closes.

Simple songs with a cadence olden--
These you learned in the Forest of Arden:
Friendly flowers with hearts all golden--
These you borrowed from Eden’s garden.

This is the reason why all men love you;
Truth to life is the charm of art:
Other poets may soar above you--
You keep close to the human heart.



Henry Van Dyke


Henry Van Dyke's other poems:
  1. The Wind of Sorrow
  2. Sea-Gulls of Manhattan
  3. A Lover’s Envy
  4. The Heavenly Hills of Holland
  5. A Legend of Service


Poems of the other poets with the same name:

  • Rudyard Kipling To James Whitcomb Riley ("Your trail runs to the westward")

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