Homes In The Country Poem by Martin Greyford

If the poor now crowded into
The cities could find homes upon the land,
They might not only earn a livelihood,
But find health and happiness now unknown to them.
Hard work,
Simple fare,
Close economy,
Often hardship and privation,
Would be their lot.
But what a blessing would
be theirs in learning the city,
With its enticements to evil,
Its turmoil and crime,
Misery and foulness,
For the country's quiet and peace and purity.

To many of those living in the cities
Who have not a spot of green grass to set their feet upon,
Who year after year have looked out
Upon filthy courts and narrow alleys,
Brick walls and pavements,
And skies clouded with dust and smoke,
-If there could be taken to some farming district,
Surrounded with the green fields,
The woods and hills and brooks,
The clear skies and the fresh,
Pure air of the country,
It would seem almost like Heaven.