Poetry Explorer- Classic Contemporary Poetry, ROAD AND PATH, by EDWIN FORD PIPER


Poetry Explorer

Classic and Contemporary Poetry

ROAD AND PATH, by                    
First Line: O, road, and path, and path and road
Last Line: And the needs of folk long dead?
Subject(s): Roads; Paths; Trails


O, road and path, and path and road,
They write the story plain;
To the picnic grounds, to the little church,
And for water, wood, and grain.

They point to the friend, and the dearest friend,
The gossip, the recluse;
To the cloud of grief, and the star of love,
And all life's human use.

There's a rain-washed mark leads up the hill
Because two boys were chums;
And a bridle path steals down the draw, --
Romance in its season comes.

O, fennel and chickweed fill the ruts
In the sunny buffalo grass;
For Andy Marsh and his cousin Bill
Look sidewise when they pass.

'Twas a well worn track to Heathering's farm,
But the courting's over now;
Mary and Belle chose husbands well,
And Jane the veil and the vow.

To Connor's house is a welcome road,
And jollity is ringing;
O, the open door and the dancing-floor,
The laughter and the singing!

There are highways born, the old roads die, --
Can you read what once they said?
From the rain-worn ditch, and the sunflower clump,
And the needs of folk long dead?





Discover our Poem Explanations and Poet Analyses!


Other Poems of Interest...
Home: PoetryExplorer.net