By the honey-suckle’s tangles where the water-lilies dipped,
And the ripples of the river lipped the moss along the brink
Where the placid-eyed and lazy-footed cattle came to drink,
And the tilting snipe stood fearless of the truant’s wayward cry
And the splashing of the swimmer, in the days gone by.
O the days gone by! O the days gone by!
The music of the laughing lip, the luster of the eye;
The childish faith in fairies, and Aladdin’s magic ring—
The simple, soul-reposing, glad belief in everything,—
When life was like a story, holding neither sob nor sigh,
In the golden olden glory of the days gone by.
-The Days Gone By by James Whitcomb Riley
Source: American Poetry: The Nineteenth Century (The Library of America, 1993)
Today's nostalgic poem seems appropriate for the late fall weather we're experiencing here in southern Ontario. James Whitcomb Riley was known primarily as a children's poet, but his skill for capturing more adult sentiments is quite clearly shown here. He was born in Indiana in 1849, where he lived almost exclusively until his death in 1916. He was coined "the Hoosier poet" as a result.
While his poems are not as widely taught in schools now, Riley was one of the most celebrated poets of his day.
