The House by the Side of the Road
The House By The Side of the Road is a charming piece of friendship poetry about what being a good friend is all about, as well as empathizing for the plights of others. It conveys an important life lesson about how the more we share, the more we get in return.
The House by the Side of the Road
by Sam Walter Foss
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,
Or 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 nor their tears--
Both parts of an infinite plan;--
Let me live in my 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;
And the road passes on through the long afternoon
And stretches away to the night.
But 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.
~Sam Walter Foss (1858 - 1911)
Foss was a librarian and poet who's most famous works included "The House by the Side of the Road" and "The Coming American."
He used to write a poem a day for the New Hampshire newspapers, which has resulted in a collection of five volumes of poetry.
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