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...SONGS AND THE POET (FOR SARA TEASDALE) by LOUIS UNTERMEYER THE GOLDEN NET by WILLIAM BLAKE TURTLE SOUP by CHARLES LUTWIDGE DODGSON THE HARP by RALPH WALDO EMERSON PEEWEE by ALFRED FRANCIS KREYMBORG ODE: INTIMATIONS OF IMMORTALITY FROM RECOLLECTIONS OF EARLY CHILDHOOD by WILLIAM WORDSWORTH |