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If I knew What Poets Know

By James Whitcomb Riley

Topics: classic

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 raindrops 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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"If I knew what poets know,..."

Exploring the themes of classic, James Whitcomb Riley delivers a powerful performance in "If I knew What Poets Know"... ### Why We Love This Line At Linespedia, we believe that poetry is the ultimate sanctuary for the soul...

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Author:James Whitcomb Riley

"If I knew what poets know,..." by James Whitcomb Riley

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James Whitcomb Riley

About James Whitcomb Riley

James Whitcomb Riley (1849–1916) was an American poet known as the "Hoosier Poet." His dialect poems—including "Little Orphant Annie" and "When the Frost Is on the Punkin"—celebrate rural Indiana life and childhood nostalgia.

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