Poetry Explorer- Classic Contemporary Poetry, UNCLE SIDNEY'S VIEWS, by JAMES WHITCOMB RILEY


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Classic and Contemporary Poetry

UNCLE SIDNEY'S VIEWS, by                 Poet Analysis     Poet's Biography
First Line: I hold that the true age of wisdom
Last Line: Through the moon, like a round yellow hole in the sky.
Alternate Author Name(s): Johnson Of Boone, Benj. F.
Subject(s): Faith; Wisdom; Youth; Belief; Creed


I HOLD that the true age of wisdom is when
We are boys and girls, and not women and men, --
When as credulous children we know things because
We believe them -- however averse to the laws.
It is faith, then, not science and reason, I say,
That is genuine wisdom. -- And would that to-day
We, as then, were as wise and ineffably blest
As to live, love and die, and trust God for the rest!

So I simply deny the old notion, you know,
That the wiser we get as the older we grow! --
For in youth all we know we are certain of. -- Now
The greater our knowledge, the more we allow
For skeptical margin. -- And hence I regret
That the world isn't flat, and the sun doesn't set,
And we may not go creeping up home, when we die,
Through the moon, like a round yellow hole in the sky.





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