On the Move

From the Rock Island Argus, November 11, 1912.
By Duncan M. Smith.
 

 Some are going farther south
     For a climate new;
 Some seek cooler northern lands
     To their strength renew;
 Some are hiking for the west
     After health and fame;
 Western men are going east
     With the selfsame aim.
 
 Some from Mexico are bound
     For Alaska’s shore;
 From the north some journey down
     Where the gulf waves roar;
 On the warm Pacific slope
     Some are there from Maine;
 Others from the far, far west
     Take the eastern train.
 
 In the town where they were born
     Very few remain.
 Others come and take their place
     In the hope of gain.
 And their paths are often crossed,
     Touching here and there,
 As they zigzag back and forth
     Going everywhere.
 
 What a restless age it is
     For the man perplexed.
 Stopping first in this man’s town,
     Striking for the next!
 Don’t you wish that you could have
     Planted safe and sound
 Half the money that it costs
     For this running round?