this Man rejoices, and is exceeding Glad,
That All Is Well With You!

O! James Whitcomb Riley
Your Nature-on the surface--was
Simple, Honest, Open, Direct.
It was all of that but--it was More!
It was deeper than Tears!
It was wider than Laughter!
It was more profound, more subtle,
than either your spoken Word.
or, your written, your printed Thought.
You were infinitely better than the
Very Best that you ever did!
High Praise, but True!
Your nature was strangely Complex:

There was the Man!
There was the Poet!
There was the Mystic!

The Man could be known--and was--of all men.
The Poet could be read--as he was--and he understood.
He could Sing--as he did--Songs
which caught the Hearts of the
People--from the Cradle to the Grave!
The Mystic!

O! James Whitcomb Riley!
That Mystic Element in your Nature!