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Title: Old Man's Nursery Rhyme
Author: James Whitcomb Riley [
More Titles by Riley]
I
In the jolly winters
Of the long-ago,
It was not so cold as now--
O! No! No!
Then, as I remember,
Snowballs to eat
Were as good as apples now.
And every bit as sweet!
II
In the jolly winters
Of the dead-and-gone,
Bub was warm as summer,
With his red mitts on,--
Just in his little waist-
And-pants all together,
Who ever hear him growl
About cold weather?
III
In the jolly winters
Of the long-ago--
Was it HALF so cold as now?
O! No! No!
Who caught his death o' cold,
Making prints of men
Flat-backed in snow that now's
Twice as cold again?
IV
In the jolly winters
Of the dead-and-gone,
Startin' out rabbit-huntin'--
Early as the dawn,--
Who ever froze his fingers,
Ears, heels, or toes,--
Or'd 'a' cared if he had?
Nobody knows!
V
Nights by the kitchen-stove,
Shellin' white and red
Corn in the skillet, and
Sleepin' four abed!
Ah! the jolly winters
Of the long-ago!
We were not as old as now--
O! No! No!
[The end]
James Whitcomb Riley's poem: Old Man's Nursery Rhyme
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