A Scrawl

James Whitcomb Riley 1849 (Greenfield) – 1916 (Indianapolis)



I want to sing something-- but this is all--
I try and I try, but the rhymes are dull
As though they were damp, and the echoes fall
Limp and unlovable.

Words will not say what I yearn to say--
They will not walk as I want them to,
But they stumble and fall in the path of the way
Of my telling my love for you.

Simply take what the scrawl is worth--
Knowing I love you as sun the sod
On the ripening side of the great round earth
That swings in the smile of God.

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Submitted on May 13, 2011

Modified on March 05, 2023

30 sec read
368

Quick analysis:

Scheme AXAA BCBC DEDE
Closest metre Iambic pentameter
Characters 459
Words 100
Stanzas 3
Stanza Lengths 4, 4, 4

James Whitcomb Riley

James Whitcomb Riley was an American writer, poet, and best-selling author. During his lifetime he was known as the "Hoosier Poet" and "Children's Poet" for his dialect works and his children's poetry respectively. more…

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    "A Scrawl" Poetry.com. STANDS4 LLC, 2024. Web. 27 Apr. 2024. <https://www.poetry.com/poem/20797/a-scrawl>.

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