Poetry Explorer- Classic Contemporary Poetry, THE HILLS OF OLD VERMONT, by DANIEL LEAVENS CADY


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Classic and Contemporary Poetry

THE HILLS OF OLD VERMONT, by                     Poet's Biography
First Line: The 'native' hills of old vermont
Last Line: Amidst the hills of old vermont.
Subject(s): Mountain Climbing; Mountain Life - Vermont; Travel; Vermont; Journeys; Trips


THE "native" hills of Old Vermont
Are 'bout as good as hills can be;
They kindly met my opening eyes,
I hope they'll be the last I see;
When folks get back from 'round the world
They sorter fill a long-felt want—
There's nothing neater on the map
Than these old hills of Old Vermont.

They say Vermont if rolled out flat
Would equal Illinois in size;
But primaries then would cost so much
The rich might win and not the wise;
Our marble, too, would be soft coal—
A thing that some folks wouldn't want—
I think we'd better let 'em stand,
The solid hills of Old Vermont.

They ain't too green, they ain't too gray,
They ain't too high or dry or small;
They're awful pretty in the Spring,
But prettier in the fiery Fall;
And they're so smooth that you can farm
Clear up to snow-line, if you want,
Which isn't true of any hills
In any place except Vermont.

If this was some big, level state,
We'd get the bitter with the sweet,
For Henry Ford might live in town,
Or unkissed Dowie down the street;
We'd have no gum, we'd have no talc—
The high school girls would come to want—
We'd better leave 'em be, I guess,
The useful hills of Old Vermont.

The man that doesn't like these hills
Must be tremendous hard to please,
Or have a case of what Fred Wells
Would call the Enosburg disease;
Jest dub me "hill dog" if you will—
Use any nicking name you want—
But I'm in hopes my eyes may close
Amidst the hills of Old Vermont.




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