Differences

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My neighbor lives on the hill,
  And I in the valley dwell,
  My neighbor must look down on me,
  Must I look up?--ah, well,
  My neighbor lives on the hill,
  And I in the valley dwell.

  My neighbor reads, and prays,
  And I--I laugh, God wot,
  And sing like a bird when the grass is green
  In my small garden plot;
  But ah, he reads and prays,
  And I--I laugh, God wot.

  His face is a book of woe,
  And mine is a song of glee;
  A slave he is to the great "They say,"
  But I--I am bold and free;
  No wonder he smacks of woe,
  And I have the tang of glee.

  My neighbor thinks me a fool,
  "The same to yourself," say I;
  "Why take your books and take your prayers,
  Give me the open sky;"
  My neighbor thinks me a fool,
  "The same to yourself," say I.

© Paul Laurence Dunbar