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Going Afoot

by Bayard H. Christy

2 of 10 · Contents · Download EPUB

When to Walk2

The Vagabond

Give me the life I love,
 Let the lave go by me,
Give the jolly heaven above
 And the byway nigh me.
Bed in the bush with stars to see,
 Bread I dip in the river—
There’s the life for a man like me,
 There’s the life for ever.

Let the blow fall soon or late,
 Let what will be o’er me;
Give the face of earth around
 And the road before me.
Wealth I seek not, hope nor love,
 Nor a friend to know me;
All I seek the heaven above
 And the road below me.

Or let autumn fall on me
 Where afield I linger,
Silencing the bird on tree,
 Biting the blue finger.
White as meal the frosty field—
 Warm the fireside haven—
Not to autumn will I yield,
 Not to winter even!

Let the blow fall soon or late,
 Let what will be o’er me;
Give the face of earth around
 And the road before me.
Wealth I ask not, hope nor love,
 Nor a friend to know me.
All I ask the heaven above
 And the road below me.

Robert Louis Stevenson.

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