The House by the Side of the Road
Sam Walter Foss
1858 to 1911
Track 1
Reconstruct the poem by dragging each line into its correct position. Your goal is to reassemble the original poem as accurately as possible. As you move the lines, you'll see whether your arrangement is correct, helping you explore the poem's flow and meaning. You can also print out the jumbled poem to cut up and reassemble in the classroom. Either way, take your time, enjoy the process, and discover how the poet's words come together to create something truly beautiful.
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And weep with the strangers that moan,
By the side of the highway of life,
As good and as bad as I.
Where the race of men go by—
And be a friend to man.
And stretches away to the night.
They are good, they are bad, they are weak, they are strong,
Let me live in my house by the side of the road
But still I rejoice when the travelers rejoice,
Or hurl the cynic's ban;—
Like a man who dwells alone.
But I turn not away from their smiles nor their tears—
Let me live in a house by the side of the road,
The men who press with the ardor of hope,
Wise, foolish—so am I.
And mountains of wearisome height;
I see from my house by the side of the road,
I know there are brook-gladdened meadows ahead
Then why should I sit in the scorner's seat
The men who are good and the men who are bad,
And the road passes on through the long afternoon
And be a friend to man.
Let me live in a house by the side of the road
Or hurl the cynic's ban?—
Nor live in my house by the side of the road
Where the race of men go by—
Let me live in my house by the side of the road
Let me live in my house by the side of the road
And be a friend to man.
Both parts of an infinite plan;—
I would not sit in the scorner's seat,
The men who are faint with the strife.