Music, and Other Poems

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.

     December, 1903.