Poems (Hoffman)/City and Country

by Martha Lavinia Hoffman

CITY AND COUNTY

I love the country's restful quiet
 Each sunny hill and shady glen,
I love the city's rush and riot
 The busy haunts of men.

There is a charm in Nature's hush
 Serene and thoughtful, cool and sweet,
A fascination in the rush
 Along the crowded street.

There are a thousand depths of thought
 In Nature's silent reservoirs,
And countless useful lessons taught
 Amid the city's noise.

My thoughts rise up in praise to God
 When I behold His vast estate,
The progress of mankind applaud
 And count his triumphs great.

Thus each sweet wild-flower at my feet
 Hath its own subtle ministry
And every stranger face I meet
 Its mute philosophy.

And so where'er my feet have trod
 Pleasure and profit I can find;
I love the mighty works of God
 And the great triumphs of mankind.