People Going By

Before they come I hear their talk
And hear their feet go on the walk.
Some go fast and some go slow,
And some of them I almost know.
In mornings they are going down
To see somebody in the town.
Or Mrs. Warner hurries past;
She has to go and come back fast.
She walks by quick and will not stop,
To go to the church with the cross on top.
I think she goes there every day
To take her rosary and pray.
And one of them is Mr. Jim--
And the big white dog that follows him.
And one is lame; that's Uncle Mells;
He takes off warts by mumbling words,
And he can lay on spells.
Or maybe night is almost come,
And Miss Jane Anne is going home.
And by her side walks Mr. Paul;
They go along with far-off looks
And hardly ever talk at all.
Or Murry's child comes up this way
To carry milk to poor Miss May
That lives in Wells's other house,
Or Joe is driving home his cows.
And some go fast and some go slow,
And some of them I almost know.
I can feel them almost speak to me,
When they pass by our tree.