Some are eager to be famous, some are striving <br /> to be great, <br /> Some are toiling to be leaders of their nation <br /> or their state, <br /> And in every man's ambition, if we only understood, <br /> There is much that's fine and splendid; every <br /> hope is mostly good. <br /> So I cling unto the notion that contented I <br /> will be <br /> If the men upon life's pathway find a needed <br /> friend in me. <br /> <br /> I rather like to putter 'round the walks and <br /> yards of life, <br /> To spray at night the roses that are burned and <br /> browned with strife; <br /> To eat a frugal dinner, but always to have a <br /> chair <br /> For the unexpected stranger that my simple <br /> meal would share. <br /> I don't care to be a traveler, I would rather be <br /> the one <br /> Sitting calmly by the roadside helping weary <br /> travelers on. <br /> <br /> I'd like to be a neighbor in the good old-fashioned way, <br /> Finding much to do for others, but not over <br /> much to say. <br /> I like to read the papers, but I do not yearn <br /> to see <br /> What the journal of the morning has been <br /> moved to say of me; <br /> In the silences and shadows I would live my <br /> life and die <br /> And depend for fond remembrance on some <br /> grateful passers-by. <br /> <br /> I guess I wasn't fashioned for the brilliant <br /> things of earth, <br /> Wasn't gifted much with talent or designed for <br /> special worth, <br /> But was just sent here to putter with life's little <br /> odds and ends <br /> And keep a simple corner where the stirring <br /> highway bends, <br /> And if folks should chance to linger, worn and <br /> weary through the day, <br /> To do some needed service and to cheer them <br /> on their way.<br /><br />Edgar Albert Guest<br /><br />http://www.poemhunter.com/poem/the-neighborly-man/
