The Cry for Justice: An Anthology of the Literature of Social Protest / The writings of philosophers, poets, novelists, social reformers, and others who have voiced the struggle against social injustice; selected from twenty-five languages; covering a period of five thousand years

by Unknown

The Sister of the Cross of Shame,

She smiles beneath her cloud—

(She does not laugh till ten o’clock,

And then she laughs too loud.)

And still she hears the throb of feet

Upon the scarlet stair,

And still she dons the cloak of shame

That is not hers to wear.

The sons of saintly women come

To kiss the Cross of Shame;