Explore "Father William. a New Version by Lee o. Harris and James Whitcomb Riley" by James Whitcomb Riley on Textopian.
"You are old, Father William, and though one would think / All the veins in your body were dry, / Yet the end of your nose is red as a pink; / I beg your indulgence, but why?"
"You see," Father William replied, "in my youth -- / 'Tis a thing I must ever regret -- / It worried me so to keep up with the truth / That my nose has a flush on it yet."