My neighbor is a pioneer;
I see him now and then.
Sometimes I pause to lend an ear
To wisdom in the ken
Of tailors in another day
When sounded tread of feet
Along the frontier's pathless way
That's now a city street.
"Ah yes, I've seen 'em come and go."
He says in musing vein;
"I've lived through wind and sun
And snow,
I've battled drought and rain.
I've rooted sages from the land
Where threes and flowers thrive.
In every task I've lent a hand--
To keep the dream alive--
The dream that now is coming true,
The dream of wealth and ease.
The legacy belongs to you--
To do with as you please."
There was a twinkel in his eye;
An airplane droned o'er head;
A shining motor scudded by
I pondered what he said.
"I sometimes think--" He spoke again;
"I'd rather have those days--
That time of toil and humger when
We lived the simple ways.
At least, I know, we had the boon
Of neighbors that we knew.
If trouble came, at night or noon,
They'd call and see us through.
And we were grateful, too, my lad--
Coarse fare and rustic dress;
Contentment, aye, with what we had--
And that's true happiness.
Of this I'd rather have one ounce
Than tinseled joys galore;
It isn't what you have that counts,
But what you're striving for!"
He tapped his cane upon the ground
And smiled with kindly grace
At all the wonderment he found
Impressed upon my face.
A siren sounded down the street,
I heard the news-boy call,
I walked away in sad retreat
To think about it all.
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