Page:The poems of Richard Watson Gilder, Gilder, 1908.djvu/140

112 THE CITY

REFORM

I

shall I help to right the world that is going wrong!

And what can I do to hurry the promised time of peace!

The day of work is short and the night of sleep is long;

And whether to pray or preach, or whether to sing a song,

To plow in my neighbor's field, or to seek the golden fleece,

Or to sit with my hands in my lap, and wish that ill would cease!

II

I think, sometimes, it were best just to let the Lord alone;

I am sure some people forget He was here before they came;

Tho' they say it is all for His glory, 't is a good deal more for their own,