From the Rock Island Argus, November 2, 1912.
By Duncan M. Smith.
Lift up your eyes and look about
And get your money’s worth,
For lying fair before you see
A great old little earth.
The view is very wide and bright
And pulsing everywhere,
And not a picture in the world
Can with the sight compare.
Lift up your eyes. Don’t focus them
Upon the lowly ditch
The while you brood upon your woes
And wish that you were rich.
Before you lies a waiting world,
All joyous, bright and fair,
And, with the others of your kind,
In it you own a share.
Lift up your eyes and take a look,
For everything is free,
And no admission need be paid
And no outgoing fee.
The brook, the meadow and the lake,
The clouds that grace the air,
The mountains and the restless sea
Are there for you to share.
Lift up your eyes unto the hills
And let your soul expand
As in the broader, wider view
A man newborn you stand.
Take heed of nature’s wondrous works,
Whose beauties you now miss,
And, though you may be poor in purse,
You shall be rich in this.