Classic and Contemporary Poetry
VISTAS OF LABOR: 4. FACTORY CHILDREN, by RICHARD EUGENE BURTON Poet's Biography First Line: Here toil the striplings, who should be a-swarm Last Line: "my kingdom is made up of such as these." Subject(s): Child Labor; Factories; Life; Religion; Youth; Theology | ||||||||
HERE toil the striplings, who should be a-swarm In open, sun-kissed meadows; and each day Amid the monstrous murmur of the looms That still their treble voices, they become Tiny automata, mockeries of youth: To her that suckled them, to him whose name They bear, mere fellow-earners of Life's bread: No time for tenderness, no place for smiles, -- These be the world's wee workers, if you please! Naught is more piteous underneath the sky Than at the scant noon hour to see them play Feebly, without abandon or delight At some poor game; so grave they seem and crushed! The gong! and foulness sucks them in once more. Yet still the message wonderful rings clear Above all clang of commerce and of mart: "Suffer the little children," and again: "My Kingdom is made up of such as these." | Discover our Poem Explanations and Poet Analyses!Other Poems of Interest...MYSTIC BOUNCE by TERRANCE HAYES MATHEMATICS CONSIDERED AS A VICE by ANTHONY HECHT UNHOLY SONNET 11 by MARK JARMAN SHINE, PERISHING REPUBLIC by ROBINSON JEFFERS THE COMING OF THE PLAGUE by WELDON KEES A LITHUANIAN ELEGY by ROBERT KELLY BLACK SHEEP by RICHARD EUGENE BURTON |
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