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Classic and Contemporary Poetry
THE ANCIENT PRINTERMAN, by JAMES WHITCOMB RILEY Poet Analysis Poet's Biography First Line: O printerman of sallow face Last Line: With a smile upon his face. Alternate Author Name(s): Johnson Of Boone, Benj. F. Subject(s): Deafness; Printing And Printers | |||
"O Printerman of sallow face, And look of absent guile, Is it the 'copy' on your 'case' That causes you to smile? Or is it some old treasure scrap You cull from Memory's file? "I fain would guess its mystery -- For often I can trace A fellow dreamer's history Whene'er it haunts the face; Your fancy's running riot In a retrospective race! "Ah, Printerman, you're straying Afar from 'stick' and type -- Your heart has 'gone a-maying,' And you taste old kisses, ripe Again on lips that pucker At your old asthmatic pipe! "You are dreaming of old pleasures That have faded from your view; And the music-burdened measures Of the laughs you listen to Are now but angel-echoes -- O, have I spoken true?" The ancient Printer hinted With a motion full of grace To where the words were printed On a card above his "case," -- "I am deaf and dumb!" I left him With a smile upon his face. | Discover our Poem Explanations and Poet Analyses!Other Poems of Interest...VIRGILII CARMINA by FREDERIC ROWLAND MARVIN JAPAN - ABOUT 1877 by JACK MERTEN A PRINTER'S MADRIGAL by CHRISTOPHER DARLINGTON MORLEY THE MAN WITH THE HOE (PRESS) by CHRISTOPHER DARLINGTON MORLEY VERSES TO BE PREFIXED BEFORE BERNARD LINTOT'S NEW MISCELLANY by ALEXANDER POPE ROBERT BURNS AND MISTER PIERPONT MORGAN by JOHN LAURENCE RENTOUL THE YOUTHFUL PRESS by JAMES WHITCOMB RILEY MORAL EMBLEMS II: 1 by ROBERT LOUIS STEVENSON JOB-PRINTING by JOHN BANISTER TABB A BOY'S MOTHER by JAMES WHITCOMB RILEY |
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