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James Whitcomb Riley - Thinkin` Back
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I`ve ben thinkin` back, of late,
S`prisin`!--And I`m here to state
I`m suspicious it`s a sign
Of _age_, maybe, or decline
Of my faculties,--and yit
I`m not _feelin`_ old a bit--
Any more than sixty-four
Ain`t no _young_ man any more!

Thinkin` back`s a thing `at grows
On a feller, I suppose--
Older `at he gits, i jack,
More he keeps a-thinkin` back!
Old as old men git to be,
Er as middle-aged as me,
Folks`ll find us, eye and mind
Fixed on what we`ve left behind--
Rehabilitatin`-like
Them old times we used to hike
Out barefooted fer the crick,
`Long `bout _Aprile first_--to pick
Out some "warmest" place to go
In a-swimmin`--_Ooh! my-oh!_
Wonder now we hadn`t died!
Grate horseradish on my hide
Jes` _a-thinkin`_ how cold then
That-`ere worter must `a` ben!

Thinkin` back--W`y, goodness me!
I kin call their names and see
Every little tad I played
With, er fought, er was afraid
Of, and so made _him_ the best
Friend I had of all the rest!

Thinkin` back, I even hear
Them a-callin`, high and clear,
Up the crick-banks, where they seem
Still hid in there--like a dream--
And me still a-pantin` on
The green pathway they have gone!
Still they hide, by bend er ford--
Still they hide--but, thank the Lord,
(Thinkin` back, as I have said),
I hear laughin` on ahead!
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