If I Knew What Poets Know

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



If I knew what poets know,
Would I write a rhyme
Of the buds that never blow
In the summer-time?
Would I sing of golden seeds
Springing up in ironweeds?
And of rain-drops turned to snow,
If I knew what poets know?

Did I know what poets do,
Would I sing a song
Sadder than the pigeon's coo
When the days are long?
Where I found a heart in pain,
I would make it glad again;
And the false should be the true,
Did I know what poets do.

If I knew what poets know,
I would find a theme
Sweeter than the placid flow
Of the fairest dream:
I would sing of love that lives
On the errors it forgives;
And the world would better grow
If I knew what poets know.

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Submitted on May 13, 2011

Modified on March 05, 2023

40 sec read
78

Quick analysis:

Scheme AbabccaA DedexxdD AfafggaA
Closest metre Iambic trimeter
Characters 633
Words 135
Stanzas 3
Stanza Lengths 8, 8, 8

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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    "If I Knew What Poets Know" Poetry.com. STANDS4 LLC, 2024. Web. 28 Mar. 2024. <https://www.poetry.com/poem/20915/if-i-knew-what-poets-know>.

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