Classic and Contemporary Poetry
DIFFERENCES, by PAUL LAURENCE DUNBAR Poem Explanation Poet's Biography First Line: My neighbor lives on the hill Last Line: "the same to yourself,"" say I." Subject(s): Neighbors | ||||||||
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. | Discover our Poem Explanations and Poet Analyses!Other Poems of Interest...BRIGHT SUN AFTER HEAVY SNOW by JANE KENYON THE MAN INTO WHOSE YARD YOU SHOULD NOT HIT YOUR BALL by THOMAS LUX PLASTIC BEATITUDE by LAURE-ANNE BOSSELAAR BESIDE MILL RIVER by MADELINE DEFREES HELSINKI, 1940 by ANSELM HOLLO THE POET'S TREE by CLARENCE MAJOR A BANJO SONG by PAUL LAURENCE DUNBAR |
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