A NEW VERSION BY LEE O. HARRIS AND JAMES <br />WHITCOMB RILEY <br /> <br />'You are old, Father William, and though one would think <br />All the veins in your body were dry, <br />Yet the end of your nose is red as a pink; <br />I beg your indulgence, but why?' <br /> <br />'You see,' Father William replied, 'in my youth-- <br />'Tis a thing I must ever regret-- <br />It worried me so to keep up with the truth <br />That my nose has a flush on it yet.' <br /> <br />'You are old,' said the youth, 'and I grieve to detect <br />A feverish gleam in your eye; <br />Yet I'm willing to give you full time to reflect. <br />Now, pray, can you answer me why?' <br /> <br />'Alas,' said the sage, 'I was tempted to choose <br />Me a wife in my earlier years, <br />And the grief, when I think that she didn't refuse, <br />Has reddened my eyelids with tears.' <br /> <br />'You are old, Father William,' the young man said, <br />'And you never touch wine, you declare, <br />Yet you sleep with your feet at the head of the bed; <br />Now answer me that if you dare.' <br /> <br />'In my youth,' said the sage, 'I was told it was true, <br />That the world turned around in the night; <br />I cherished the lesson, my boy, and I knew <br />That at morning my feet would be right.' <br /> <br />'You are old,' said the youth, 'and it grieved me to note, <br />As you recently fell through the door, <br />That 'full as a goose' had been chalked on your coat; <br />Now answer me that I implore.' <br /> <br />'My boy,' said the sage, 'I have answered you fair, <br />While you stuck to the point in dispute, <br />But this is a personal matter, and there <br />Is my answer--the toe of my boot.'<br /><br />James Whitcomb Riley<br /><br />http://www.poemhunter.com/poem/father-william-2/
