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Henry van Dyke

Henry van Dyke

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.

Altre opere di Henry van Dyke...
America for Me

'Tis fine to see the Old World an… Among the famous palaces and citie… To admire the crumblyh castles and… But now I think I’ve had enough o… So it’s home again, and home again…
Patria

I would not even ask my heart to s… If I could love some other land a… As thee, my country, had I felt t… Of Italy at birth, or learned to… The charm of France, or England’s…
Departure

Oh, why are you shining so bright,… And why is the garden so gay? Do you know that my days of deligh… Do you know I am going away? If you covered your face with a cl…
Jeanne d'Arc Returns

What hast thou done, O womanhood… Mother and daughter, sister, sweet… What hast thou done, amid this fat… To prove the pride of thine inheri… In this fair land of freedom and r…
Time Is

Time is Too Slow for those who Wait, Too Swift for those who Fear, Too Long for those who Grieve, Too Short for those who Rejoice;
 1
The Bells of Malines

The gabled roofs of old Malines Are russet red and gray and green, And o’er them in the sunset hour Looms, dark and huge, St. Rombold… High in that rugged nest concealed…
 1
The Ancestral Dwelling

Dear to my heart are the ancestral… Dearer than if they were haunted b… These are the homes that were buil… They are simple enough to be great… I love the old white farmhouses ne…
An American in Europe

'Tis fine to see the Old World, a… Among the famous palaces and citie… To admire the crumbly castles and… But now I think I’ve had enough o… So it’s home again, and home again…
A Wayfaring Song

0 who will walk a mile with me Along life’s merry way? A comrade blithe and full of glee, Who dares to laugh out loud and fr… And let his frolic fancy play,
Urbs Coronata

O youngest of the giant brood Of cities far—renowned; In wealth and power thou hast pass… Thy rivals at a bound; And now thou art a queen, New Yor…
The Statue of Sherman by St. Gaudens

This is the soldier brave enough t… The glory—dazzled world that `war… Lover of peace, he looks beyond th… And rides through hell to save his…
Fire-Fly City

Like a long arrow through the dark… Bearing me far away, after a perfe… Wakeful with all the sad—sweet mem… I lift the narrow window—shade and… Lonely the land unknown, and like…
Love in a Look

Let me but feel thy look’s embrace… Transparent, pure, and warm, And I’ll not ask to touch thy fac… Or fold thee with mine arm. For in thine eyes a girl doth rise…
The Name of France

Give us a name to fill the mind With the shining thoughts that lea… The glory of learning, the joy of… A name that tells of a splendid pa… In the long, long toil and the str…
Mother Earth

Mother of all the high—strung poet… Mother of all the grass that weave… Mother of all the manifold forms o… Silent brooder and nurse of lyrica… Out of thee, yea, surely out of th…



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