It Was the Road to Jericho

"It Was the Road to Jericho" by Annie Fellows Johnston is a deeply thoughtful poem from the early 1900s, connecting to big ideas like caring for others, giving up something for someone else, and what it means to be human. Like the story of the Good Samaritan from the Bible, the poem tells about a traveler who helps a hurt man, and it uses this to talk about the tough times people face in life. The poem is in three parts: first, it shows the kind act of the Samaritan, who helps someone hurt by thieves on the road to Jericho; then, it looks at all the pain and suffering in the world, saying that we need to be kind in these hard times; finally, it asks everyone to work together to make things better, saying that loving and sacrificing like Jesus can help heal the world. The poem uses strong, descriptive language and deep moral thoughts to make readers think about how they react to the pain of others.