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Laughter Holding Both His Sides

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

Ay, thou varlet! Laugh away!
All the world's a holiday!
Laugh away, and roar and shout
Till thy hoarse tongue lolleth out!
Bloat thy cheeks, and bulge thine eyes
Unto bursting; pelt thy thighs
With thy swollen palms, and roar
As thou never hast before!
Lustier! Wilt thou! Peal on peal!
Stiflest? Squat and grind thy heel--
Wrestle with thy loins, and then
Wheeze thee whiles, and whoop again!

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Submitted on May 13, 2011

Modified on March 05, 2023

21 sec read
349

Quick analysis:

Scheme AABBCCDDEEFF
Closest metre Iambic tetrameter
Characters 390
Words 71
Stanzas 1
Stanza Lengths 12
Full analysis for Laughter Holding Both His Sides »

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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