Song of the Dispossessed
‘BE with us by day, by night,
O lover, O friend;
Hold before us thy light
Unto the end!’
See, all these children of ours
Starved and ill-clad.
Speak to thy heart’s lily-flowers,
And make them glad!
‘Our wives and daughters are here,
Knowing wrong and shame’s touch;
Bid them be of good cheer
Who have lovèd much.
‘And we, we are robbed and oppressed,
Even as thine were.
Tell us of comfort and rest,
Banish despair!’
‘Be with us by day, by night,
O lover, O friend;
Hold before us thy light
Unto the end!’
