37 THE HOUSE BY THE SIDE OF THE ROAD

There are hermit souls that live withdrawn

In the place of their self-content;

There are souls like stars, that dwell apart,

In a fellowless firmament;

There are pioneer souls that blaze their paths

Where highways never ran —

But let me live by the side of the road

And be a friend to man.

Let me live in a house by the side of the road

Where the race of men go by —

The men who are good and the men who are bad,

As good and as bad as I.

I would not sit in the scorner’s seat

Or hurl the cynic’s ban —

Let me live in a house by the side of the road

And be a friend to man.

I see from my house by the side of the road,

By the side of the highway of life,

The men who press with the ardor of hope,

The men who are faint with the strife,

But I turn not away from their smiles nor their tears,

Both parts of an infinite plan —

Let me live in a house by the side of the road

And be a friend to man.

I know there are brook-gladdened meadows ahead,

And mountains of wearisome height;

That the road passes on through the long afternoon

And stretches away to the night.

And still I rejoice when the travelers rejoice.

And weep with the strangers that moan.

Nor live in my house by the side of the road

Like a man who dwells alone.

Let me live in my house by the side of the road

Where the race of men go by —

They are good, they are bad, they are weak, they are strong,

Wise, foolish—so am I.

Then why should I sit in the scorner’s seat

Or hurl the cynic’s ban?

Let me live in my house by the side of the road

And be a friend to man.

( Sam Walter Foss )

Biography

Sam Walter Foss (1858-1911) was a native of New Hampshire. After he was graduated from Brown University, he began work as editor of a newspaper. Later he was made librarian of the public library at Somerville,Massachusetts, a position he held until his death. Among his published works are Songs of War and Peace, Songs of the Average Man, and Dreams in Homespun,from which “The House by the Side of the Road” is taken.

On one of his trips to England, the poet came, at the top of a long hill, to a little house, set almost in the road, so near was it. At one side a queer signpost finger pointed to a well-worn path and a sign “Come in and have a cool drink.”Following the path he found a spring of ice-cold water, with an old-fashioned gourd dipper hanging near; on a bench was a basket of fragrant apples, with a sign “Help yourself.” In the little house lived an old couple whose only source of livelihood was the stony farm. The place was rich in delicious spring water and an abundance of fruit; and from the ripening of the first purple plum to the harvesting of the season’s last apple a basket of fruit was so placed that everyone passing might rest upon the long hill and refresh himself. The old man explained to the poet that they were too poor to give money to help others, so they took this way to add their mite to the world’s comfort and welldoing. The beautiful thought inspired Mr. Foss to write this poem.

Word list

hermit : someone who lives away from other people

pioneer : the first to do somethin

cynic : someone who thinks negatively

infinit : never ending

You Practice

Answer the following questions.

1) Do you know people similar to the ones described in the firs stanza?

2) What do we learn about the poet in the second stanza?

3) What do you think is the meaning of the third stanza?

4) In the poem, how is the road compared to life?

5) Why do you think the poet repeats the second stanza with slight changes, at the end of the poem?