Your Daily Poem

This site exists for one purpose only: to help dispel the ugly and absolutely untrue myth that poetry is boring. Granted, a lot of poetry is boring, but you won't find it here. At Your Daily Poem, you'll find poetry that is touching, funny, provocative, inspiring, uplifting, and surprising. It may punch you in the gut, it may bring tears to your eyes, it may make you laugh out loud, but it most assuredly will not bore you! Visit our home page every day to see a different poem.

Poetry on YDP—by poets living and long dead, famous to completely unknown--is specially selected for accessibility and appeal. Thanks so much for visiting—and remember: a poem a day keeps the doldrums away!

Broad Ripple
by
James Whitcomb Riley

Ah, luxury! Beyond the heat
And dust of town, with dangling feet,
Astride the rock below the dam,
In the cool shadows where the calm
Rests on the stream again, and all
Is silent save the waterfall, --
I bait my hook and cast my line,
And feel the best of life is mine.

No high ambition may I claim --—
I angle not for lordly game
Of trout, or bass, or wary bream— --
A black perch reaches the extreme
Of my desires; and "goggle-eyes"
Are not a thing that I despise;
A sunfish, or a "chub," or "cat"— --
A "silverside"-- —yea, even that!

In eloquent tranquillity
The waters lisp and talk to me.
Sometimes, far out, the surface breaks,
As some proud bass an instant shakes
His glittering armor in the sun,
And romping ripples, one by one,
Come dallying across the space
Where undulates my smiling face.

The river's story flowing by,
Forever sweet to ear and eye,
Forever tenderly begun— --
Forever new and never done.
Thus lulled and sheltered in a shade
Where never feverish cares invade,
I bait my hook and cast my line,
And feel the best of life is mine.

This poem is in the public domain.

James Whitcomb Riley (1849 - 1916) was an American poet best known for his children's poems and dialect-based verses. James was born in Greenfield, Indiana, and later moved to Indianapolis; homes in both cities are preserved and open to the public today. James was hugely popular during his lifetime. A bestselling author who traveled the country speaking to sell-out crowds, he never married or had children of his own, but he loved children and they loved him back. When he died, more than 35,000 people came to pay their respects as James lay in state under the Indiana capitol dome.

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Darrell Arnold:
The simple joy of fishing is not really about catching fish. If you catch them, it's nice, but if you don't, you still spent quality hours outdoors, in God's natural world. It is absolutely one of the healthiest things a person can do for both mind and body. I like this poem.
Posted 07/12/2026 08:37 AM

KevinArnold:
The poem certainly evokes a more innocent time. Along with Edwin Markham (Poetry Center San Jose is located in Markham's house), Riley was considered one of the "American Poets of the Soil." They enjoyed popularity modern-day poets can't imagine, with front-page newspaper coverage and crowds we'd associate more with rock stars today.
Posted 07/12/2011 10:33 AM

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