BROTHERHOOD OF MAN.
We are the children of one God.—
This truth I’ll not deny.
But you stand clad in fine array,
Have houses grand, while I
Must toil in grime from morn till night,
And oft am hungry, cold,
My loved ones living in a hut,
All for the want of gold.
You know not what it is to work;
Your measure is complete;
Aye running over; pressed hard down;
While I toil on in heat,
In cold, in wind, in rain, and snow,
With aching back and feet;
With pittance small, and that begrudged.—
You scorn me when we meet.
You prate of “Brotherhood of Man,”
But will you hold the plough?
Or till the soil, or plant the grain,
Or stack the hay in mow?
I see you smile my brother (?) man;
You are of higher birth.
You fix your eyes upon the stars,
While mine belong to earth.
Your children must to college go,
But mine must learn to work,
Must learn to wait on you and yours,
And never duty shirk.
Yet, brothers we, in very sooth,
Are children of one God;
And though you claim a higher birth,
We’re leveled ’neath the sod.
MAN DEFYING THE DYING SUN.
Farewell, farewell, O dying Sun!
Thy glorious race is almost run.
But I acknowledge this to thee
That thou hast fought most valiantly.
Wast ever foremost in the fight,
No rest for thee by day, nor night.
I too have fought most manfully,
And stand erect, defying thee.
I’ve fought the fight, have gained the day,
I shall live on forever, aye.—
Farewell then Sun, for thou must die;
While I have gained eternity.
When thou art dead and cold, O Sun,
Thou’lt be a crownless king laid low.
No pity shall I have for thee,
O thou my conquered, fallen foe.
Thou seem’st to laugh exultantly—
Thou shalt be humbled, haughty Sun;
He laughs the best, who laughs the last,
For now thy race is nearly run.
I stand alone defying thee
One moment, then, I too shall die.
But I have gained the victory;
I nevermore to thee shall cry.
Thou standest in thy majesty,
Thou standest in thy glorious might.
With scorn thou viewest dying man
From out thy wondrous, wondrous height
Thou lookest down on me, O Sun,
And dost contempt upon me cast.
But thou art slowly dying, Sun,
Thy greatness is but of the past.
I stand alone upon the earth—
No living thing can I now see;
But I shall witness thy defeat;
A fallen king thou soon wilt be.
One moment I shall stand erect;
A sovereign of the earth, and space;
Then die as thou hast died, O Sun,
The last of all my dying race.
The last of all humanity—
I’ve struggled hard to win the race;
Have conquered too, for now I stand
Alone on earth, grim death to face.
The earth is mine, I’ve conquered thee—
One moment witness thy defeat,
Then falling to the earth, now king;
A dead, cold Sun, I proudly greet.
The earth is cold; (all life is gone,—)
And little now it holds for me.
I miss thy warmth, I miss thy light,
Although I stand exultantly.—
Thou never canst atone, O Sun,
For all the misery thou hast wrought—
’Tis evermore on earth, dark night;
Though I have life, ’tis dearly bought.
Farewell! Farewell! defeated Sun!
Thou now art dead; thy race is run.—
IF THERE IS NO HEREAFTER.
If soul has no hereafter,
What is the unknown bond
That bindeth soul to matter,
And what is the beyond?
What is the power that buildeth?
What is the mind that wills?
What is the power within us
That all our being thrills?
If there is no hereafter
What use to us was birth?
We’re naught but vegetation
Encumbering the earth.
If knowledge had been given
Of th’ power that brought us here—
The law of living, dying.—
Of death we’d have no fear.
We’d start on our new journey,
And would not death regret.
These questions are deep problems
Which sometime must be met.
This life would be a failure
If naught there was beyond;
No tie twixt soul and matter,
No everlasting bond.
O Thou Almighty Father!
Canst be that soul must die?
O listen to my pleading,
O Father hear my cry!
O tell me what is dying?
I would by Thee be taught.—
Give me the glimpse of heaven
Which I so long have sought.—