The Old Days - James Whitcomb Riley's "Songs of Home"

The Old Days
  by James Whitcomb Riley

The old days - the far days -
  The overdear and fair!
The old days - the lost days-
  How lovely they were!
The old days of Morning,
  With the dew-drench on the flowers
And apple-buds and blossoms
  Of those old days of ours.

Then was the real gold
  Spendthrift Summer flung;
Then was the real song
  Bird or Poet sung!
There was never censure then, -
  Only honest praise -
And all things were worthy of it
  in the old days.

The bide the true friends -
  The first and the best;
There clings the green grass
  Close where they rest:
Would they were here? No; -
  Would we were there!
The old days - the lost days -
  How lovely they were!

Contributed by Linda L. Lang - Friend and Employee of Clermont Senior Services for 31 years.
This book was given to me by Lois.