The Complete Poems of Paul Laurence Dunbar/Differences

DIFFERENCES

My neighbor lives on the hill, And I in the valley dwell, My neighbor must look down on me, Must I look up?—ah, well, My neighbor lives on the hill, And I in the valley dwell.

My neighbor reads, and prays, And I—I laugh, God wot, And sing like a bird when the grass is green In my small garden plot; But ah, he reads and prays, And I—I laugh, God wot.

His face is a book of woe, And mine is a song of glee; A slave he is to the great "They say," But I—I am bold and free; No wonder he smacks of woe, And I have the tang of glee.

My neighbor thinks me a fool, "The same to yourself," say I; "Why take your books and take your prayers, Give me the open sky;" My neighbor thinks me a fool, "The same to yourself," say I.