The Mineral

Cornelius S. Hurlbut, JR

           The Mineral
               
 The mineral is a wondrous thing,
 At least it is to me.
 For in its ordered structure lies
 The world of mistery.

 The secrets which it has withheld
 For countless ages past,
 And clung to most tenaciously,
 Are being learned at last.

Each year, using new machines,
Or with a new device
We make our knowledge more complete
Our data more precise.

But let us not in trying to solve
A mineral mistery
Forget that mineral is a part
Of Natural History.

And in our search for more details,
When probing an Unknown
Forget that every mineral has
A beauty of its own.

With progress in technology
 (Each year sees new machines
 Which tries to copy Nature
 With its sophisticated means).

But for all these modern methods
We cannot yet compete
With the world of natural Beauty
That lies beneath our feet.