They come romping out to greet me with the same old merry shout,

Till it seems to me I'm playing once again on boyhood's stage,

Where there's no such thing as sorrow and there's no such thing as age.

I can be the care-free schoolboy! I can play the lover, too!

I can walk through Maytime orchards with the old sweetheart I knew;

I can dream the glad dreams over, greet the old familiar friends

In a land where there's no parting and the laughter never ends.

All the gladness life has given from a grate fire I reclaim,

And I'm sorry for the fellow who can only see the flame.

[Pg 42]

[Pg 42]

THE KINDLY NEIGHBOR

I have a kindly neighbor, one who stands

Beside my gate and chats with me awhile,

Gives me the glory of his radiant smile

And comes at times to help with willing hands.

No station high or rank this man commands,

He, too, must trudge, as I, the long day's mile;

And yet, devoid of pomp or gaudy style,

He has a worth exceeding stocks or lands.

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