They Paved the Way, a Poem

THEY PAVED THE WAY

BY ANNE SMART

It seems like only yesterday

They came with hopes and dreams

They came to pave a better way

For the rest of us, it seems.

They were a proud and noble race

Those pioneers who came

For them there were no frills and lace

And they did not ask for fame.

They came and carved a nation

From this land of wilderness

They toiled from morn ‘til set of sun

And for their efforts gained success.

They broke the land, they tilled the soil

Their complaints were seldom voiced

Till they grew weary from the toil

Then in heaven they rejoiced.

One by one they’ve left this land

For their well-earned final pay

They left their footprints in the sand

Those pioneers of yesterday.

How many times I wonder

What life would be today

If it wasn’t for those pioneers

Who came and paved the way.