The Ancient Printman

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



'O Printerman of sallow face,
And look of absent guile,
Is it the 'copy' on your 'case'
That causes you to smile?
Or is it some old treasure scrap
You cull from Memory's file?

'I fain would guess its mystery--
For often I can trace
A fellow dreamer's history
Whene'er it haunts the face;
Your fancy's running riot
In a retrospective race!

'Ah, Printerman, you're straying
Afar from 'stick' and type--
Your heart has 'gone a-maying,'
And you taste old kisses, ripe
Again on lips that pucker
At your old asthmatic pipe!

'You are dreaming of old pleasures
That have faded from your view;
And the music-burdened measures
Of the laughs you listen to
Are now but angel-echoes--
O, have I spoken true?'

The ancient Printer hinted
With a motion full of grace
To where the words were printed
On a card above his 'case,'--
'I am deaf and dumb!' I left him
With a smile upon his face.

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Submitted on May 13, 2011

Modified on March 05, 2023

50 sec read
40

Quick analysis:

Scheme ABABXB CACAXA DEDEXE FGFGXG HAHAXA
Closest metre Iambic tetrameter
Characters 852
Words 165
Stanzas 5
Stanza Lengths 6, 6, 6, 6, 6

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…

All James Whitcomb Riley poems | James Whitcomb Riley Books

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