English Poetry. Henry Van Dyke. To James Whitcomb Riley. Генри Ван Дайк.

Henry Van Dyke (Генри Ван Дайк)

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’s other poems:

1. The Statue of Sherman by St. Gaudens
2. The Wind of Sorrow
3. Spring in the South
4. Urbs Coronata
5. Francis Makemie

Poems of other poets with the same name (Стихотворения других поэтов с таким же названием):

Rudyard Kipling (Редьярд Киплинг) To James Whitcomb Riley (“Your trail runs to the westward”)

To the dedicated English version of this website

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