James Whitcomb Riley > Quotes

“He Is Not Dead

I cannot say, and I will not say
That he is dead. He is just away.
With a cheery smile, and a wave of the hand,
He has wandered into an unknown land
And left us dreaming how very fair
It needs must be, since he lingers there.
And you—oh you, who the wildest yearn
For an old-time step, and the glad return,
Think of him faring on, as dear
In the love of There as the love of Here.
Think of him still as the same. I say,
He is not dead—he is just away.”
― James Whitcomb Riley

“I bless the hoss from hoof to head -
From head to hoof, and tale to mane! -
I bless the hoss, as I have said,
From head to hoof, and back again!”
― James Whitcomb Riley

“A Parting Guest

What delightful hosts are they—
Life and Love!
Lingeringly I turn away,
This late hour, yet glad enough
They have not withheld from me
Their high hospitality.
So, with face lit with delight
And all gratitude, I stay
Yet to press their hands and say,
Thanks.—So fine a time! Good night.”
― James Whitcomb Riley

“When I see a bird that walks like a duck and swims like a duck and quacks like a duck, I call that bird a duck.”
― James Whitcomb Riley

“To all the little children:- The happy ones; and sad ones; the boisterous ones and glad ones; The good ones- Yes, the good ones, too; and all the lovely bad ones.”
― James Whitcomb Riley, Little Orphant Annie and Other Poems

“I so ill deserve the place his arms make for me.”
― James Whitcomb Riley

“In fact, to speak in earnest, I believe it adds a charm
To spice the good a trifle with a little dust of harm”
― James Whitcomb Riley, An Old Sweetheart of Mine

“    I woo'd a woman once, But she was sharper than an eastern wind.”
― James Whitcomb Riley, Complete Works of James Whitcomb Riley; Vol 1

“_To Santa Claus_ Most tangible of all the gods that be, O Santa Claus-- our own since Infancy! As first we scampered to thee-- now, as then, Take us as children to thy heart again. Be wholly good to us, just as of old: As a pleased father, let thine arms infold Us, homed within the haven of thy love, And all the cheer and wholesomeness thereof. Thou lone reality, when O so long Life's unrealities have wrought us wrong: Ambition hath allured us--, fame likewise, And all that promised honor in men's eyes. Throughout the world's evasions, wiles, and shifts, Thou only bidest stable as thy gifts--: A grateful king re-ruleth from thy lap, Crowned with a little tinselled soldier-cap: A mighty general-- a nation's pride-- Thou givest again a rocking-horse to ride, And wildly glad he groweth as the grim Old jurist with the drum thou givest him: The sculptor's chisel, at thy mirth's command, Is as a whistle in his boyish hand; The painters model fadeth utterly, And there thou standest--, and he painteth thee--: Most like a winter pippin, sound and fine And tingling-red that ripe old face of thine, Set in thy frosty beard of cheek and chin As midst the snows the thaws of spring set in. Ho! Santa Claus-- our own since Infancy-- Most tangible of all the gods that be--! As first we scampered to thee-- now, as then, Take us as children to thy heart again.”
― James Whitcomb Riley, The Essential James Whitcomb Riley Collection

“And Philiper Flash, With a horrible slash, Whacked his jugular open and went to smash.”
― James Whitcomb Riley, Complete Works of James Whitcomb Riley; Vol 1

“O weary heart and hand,     Go bravely to the strife— No victory is half so grand     As that which conquers life! One day shall yet be thine—     The day that waits for all Whose prayerful eyes are things divine     When evening shadows fall.”
― James Whitcomb Riley, Complete Works of James Whitcomb Riley; Vol 1

“We must get home! How could we stray like this?
So far from home, we know not where it is,
Only in some fair, apple-blossomy place
Of children's faces--and the mother's face
We dimly dream it, till the vision clears”
― James Whitcomb Riley, Complete Poetical Works of James Whitcomb Riley

“The ripest peach is the highest on the tree.”
― James Whitcomb Riley