To James Whitcomb Riley

1 
Your trail runs to the westward,
   And mine to my own place;
There is water between our lodges,
   And I have not seen your face.
2 
But since I have read your verses
   ’Tis easy to guess the rest,—
Because in the hearts of the children
    There is neither East nor West.
3 
Born to a thousand fortunes
     Of good or evil hap,
Once they were kings together,
    Throned in a mother’s lap.
4 
Surely they know that secret—
    Yellow and black and white—
When they meet as kings together
    In innocent dreams at night.
5 
By a moon they all can play with—
    Grubby and grimed and unshod,
Very happy together,
   And very near to God.
6 
Your trail runs to the westward,
    And mine to my own place:
There is water between our lodges,
   And you cannot see my face.—
7 
And that is well—for crying
    Should neither be written nor seen,
But if I call you Smoke-in-the-Eyes,
    I know you will know what I mean.

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