I'M king of the road! I gather My toll on the world's highways. They pave the street for my royal feet, And the man in the wagon pays. With my sturdy heels I laugh at wheels; I hurry at no man's will, For the rich who ride my meat provide; They must feed the king to his fill. I'm king of the road! Before me My way lies over the land, With a wild rose train from meadow and lane And the hail of a song-bird band. They are slaves who team by wagon or steam: The footman carries the crown. What cares the tramp whose supper and camp Are waiting in every town? I'm king of the road all summer; In winter I still go free. Let the snow-blast come, in a nook I'll chum With a gipsy crew like me. I'll ask no shares with home-proud heirs; They're the scorn of my soul while I Can tread the floors of the great Out-doors, And nobody ask me why. | Discover our Poem Explanations and Poet Analyses!Other Poems of Interest...THE LIVING STARS by GEORGE SANTAYANA EARTH'S IMMORTALITIES: LOVE by ROBERT BROWNING WRITTEN AFTER SWIMMING FROM SESTOS TO ABYDOS by GEORGE GORDON BYRON ODE FOR A SOCIAL MEETING, WITH SLIGHT ALTERATIONS BY A TEETOTALER by OLIVER WENDELL HOLMES TIPPERARY: 3. AS THE INTERLINEARS MIGHT TAKE IT FROM XENOPHON by FRANKLIN PIERCE ADAMS A SONNET. ON THE DEATH OF SYLVIA by PHILIP AYRES ON CYNTHIA, SINGING A RECITATIVE PIECE OF MUSIC by PHILIP AYRES |