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?
(Edwin Ford Piper)
More Poetry from Edwin Ford Piper:
Edwin Ford Piper Poems based on Topics: Singing, Water, Love, Gossip, Christianity, Laughter, Friendship, Romantic Love, Grief- Bindlestiff (Edwin Ford Piper Poems)
- The Church (Edwin Ford Piper Poems)
- Barbed Wire (Edwin Ford Piper Poems)
- The Grasshoppers (Edwin Ford Piper Poems)
- The Sod House (Edwin Ford Piper Poems)
- Once On A Time (Edwin Ford Piper Poems)
Readers Who Like This Poem Also Like:
Based on Topics: Love Poems, Friendship Poems, Christianity Poems, Water Poems, Grief Poems, Laughter Poems, Romantic Love Poems, Singing Poems, Gossip PoemsBased on Keywords: ruts, sidewise, recluse, chums, fennel, andy, jollity, rain-washed, connor, chickweed, rain-worn