When June Is Here

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



When June is here--what art have we to sing
The whiteness of the lilies midst the green
Of noon-tranced lawns? Or flash of roses seen
Like redbirds' wings? Or earliest ripening
Prince-Harvest apples, where the cloyed bees cling
Round winey juices oozing down between
The peckings of the robin, while we lean
In under-grasses, lost in marveling.
Or the cool term of morning, and the stir
Of odorous breaths from wood and meadow walks,
The bobwhite's liquid yodel, and the whir
Of sudden flight; and, where the milkmaid talks
Across the bars, on tilted barley-stalks
The dewdrops' glint in webs of gossamer.

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Submitted on May 13, 2011

Modified on April 03, 2023

31 sec read
64

Quick analysis:

Scheme ABBAABBACDCDDC
Closest metre Iambic pentameter
Characters 600
Words 104
Stanzas 1
Stanza Lengths 14

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…

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    "When June Is Here" Poetry.com. STANDS4 LLC, 2024. Web. 14 May 2024. <https://www.poetry.com/poem/21181/when-june-is-here>.

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