My neighbor lives on the hill, <br />And I in the valley dwell, <br />My neighbor must look down on me, <br />Must I look up?--ah, well, <br />My neighbor lives on the hill, <br />And I in the valley dwell. <br /> <br />My neighbor reads, and prays, <br />And I--I laugh, God wot, <br />And sing like a bird when the grass is green <br />In my small garden plot; <br />But ah, he reads and prays, <br />And I--I laugh, God wot. <br /> <br />His face is a book of woe, <br />And mine is a song of glee; <br />A slave he is to the great 'They say,' <br />But I--I am bold and free; <br />No wonder he smacks of woe, <br />And I have the tang of glee. <br /> <br />My neighbor thinks me a fool, <br />'The same to yourself,' say I; <br />'Why take your books and take your prayers, <br />Give me the open sky;' <br />My neighbor thinks me a fool, <br />'The same to yourself,' say I.<br /><br />Paul Laurence Dunbar<br /><br />http://www.poemhunter.com/poem/differences-28/
