MY neighbor John died yesternight, His happy spirit took its flight, With every omen good and bright Its transit hailing; No summer leaf more softly shed, No murmur o'er a flowery bed More gently breathed, than when he fled, And left us wailing. As boys, we oft together played, Where flowers were brightest, there we strayed, Or stretched beneath the elm-tree shade At noonday lying; The life behind us was a dream, Before, a stern and ruffled stream,— Our souls in fancy there would seem With struggles plying. And I, indeed, a stormy life, With more than youth could fancy rife, In toil and sorrow, fear and strife, Have aye been ranging; But neighbor John, no floweret wild For danger's steep, but soft and mild, Forever has remained a child, In heart unchanging. Too good to feel life's fiercer pant, No wild desires such heart could haunt, Nor thwarted hope his purpose daunt, A simple liver; But just enough, his constant prayer, For his and for his neighbor's share,— The poor man felt his cheerful care, And blest the giver. His life, a calm and quiet sway, Old age's welcome urged his stay, And childhood gladly left its play For his caressing; Where'er he took his fireside place, A smile illumined every face, And thus he ran his daily race, A daily blessing. He saw the world, a phantom-show, In mad pursuit of nothings go, Shifting and changing, high and low, A hurly-burly; And sought betimes that better part, To raise his mind and school his heart, Heaven's way to win his only art, He found it early. And I, that o'er the dreary main, My childhood's home have sought in vain, My ancient friend's old grasp again I welcomed gladly; But gone so soon, alone I trace, And vacant, each familiar place, I mark, alas, each stranger face, And miss him sadly. | Discover our Poem Explanations and Poet Analyses!Other Poems of Interest...THE UNCERTAINTY PRINCIPLE by JAMES GALVIN DOMESDAY BOOK: THE HOUSE THAT JACK BUILT by EDGAR LEE MASTERS GENEVIEVE AND ALEXANDRA (2) by EDWIN ARLINGTON ROBINSON FARE WELL by WALTER JOHN DE LA MARE THE FIRE OF DRIFTWOOD; DEVEREUX FARM, NEAR MARBLEHEAD by HENRY WADSWORTH LONGFELLOW |