Thursday, January 29, 2009

The House by the Side of the Road

I saw this little house today and it reminded me of Grandma and one of her favorite poems....



The House by the Side of the Road
by Sam Walter Foss


There are hermit souls that live withdrawn
In the place of their self-content;
There are souls like stars, that dwell apart, In a fellowless firmament;
There are pioneer souls that blaze the paths
Where highways never ran-
But let me live by the side of the road
And be a friend to man.

Let me live in a house by the side of the road
Where the race of men go by-
The men who are good and the men who are bad,
As good and as bad as I.
I would not sit in the scorner's seat
Nor hurl the cynic's ban-
Let me live in a house by the side of the road
And be a friend to man.

I see from my house by the side of the road
By the side of the highway of life,
The men who press with the ardor of hope,
The men who are faint with the strife,
But I turn not away from their smiles and tears,
Both parts of an infinite plan-
Let me live in a house by the side of the road
And be a friend to man.

I know there are brook-gladdened meadows ahead,
And mountains of wearisome height;
That the road passes on through the long afternoon
And stretches away to the night.
And still I rejoice when the travelers rejoice
And weep with the strangers that moan,
Nor live in my house by the side of the road
Like a man who dwells alone.

Let me live in my house by the side of the road,
Where the race of men go by-
They are good, they are bad, they are weak, they are strong,
Wise, foolish - so am I.
Then why should I sit in the scorner's seat,
Or hurl the cynic's ban?
Let me live in my house by the side of the road
And be a friend to man.

5 comments:

Unknown said...

aw,that is sweet!! your grandma sure could write some poems.I have tried but it never seems to work for me.
that house must have been what john cougar meloncamp was talking about with all those "little pink houses" for you and me.

Jennifer said...

What a nice poem and a cute little house.

Unknown said...

OK. I'm crying again! I miss Mom.

Beth - this afternoon I found the pic of you, Mike, and tiny baby bean and stuck it on my corkboard by the computer.

Diane - we still have to collect the poems Mom wrote to all of us. Love you!

Lola said...

nice. thanks grandma.

Prairie Painter said...

Beautifully written and conceived; thank you for sharing with us all.