—Holding Two Telegrams And A Plea—
I.
When the word came that
James Whitcomb Riley was Dead
this Telegram was sent to a near
Relative an astute Man of Affairs
who with the Head of a Great Publishing
House—a Prime Favorite from
his early Boyhood of the Poet—held
his well-placed Confidence in all
matters concerning the necessary
material Things of Life.
The mightiest Monarch of the Indiana Forest
lies prone upon his Native Soil!
This Man From Down On The Farm,
Reverently, sends this humble Spray of Kentucky Pine,
as a Symbol, ever-green, of his Lasting Love, for the Dead Poet:
as a Symbol, made manifest, of his deep Sympathy,
for You, for Yours.
II.
This Message was wired to a most
Gentle Lady who had meant
so much in so many ways to
James Whitcomb Riley
appealing as she did to the Best
to the Highest in his Nature and who
was indeed a "Ministering Angel"
when "Pain and Anguish" wrung
his brow, racked his frail body
where lingered its Tenant
his Immortal Soul!
Tenderly, Lovingly, let the Fair Elaine cherish
the Shield Invincible of her Sir Launcelot!
Some Day—Some Glad Day—she too, will go upward
with the Flood, in the Dark Barge, decked with Flowers:
clasping in her Beautiful Hand of Gentle Service,
the Lily of Fidelity: floating with the Mystic
Tide, to meet again—at Towered Camelot—
—her Gallant, her Waiting Knight!
For Love shares with the Soul its Precious Immortality!