SELECTED POETRY.
A SONG FOR THE TOILERS.
Oil. ye whose lot it is to toil. Foredoomed to labour from your birth Towield the tool or dig th,i soil. I odo the needful work of earth Jhink not because the things ye do Arc coarse and rough, ye must be so. 1 lie grime ol toil ennobles you Aioro than would king's knight making bloiv.
Tho1 Wealth's proud son may pats you by As .-iv;itnrcs of n meaner sort: ■ lio' Kank may look with scornful eye. And Learning mock at men untaught Nor rank nor wealth nor sages' lore Can make a nation lirinly stand. A nation's life is in its poor. Its strength in Labour's horny hand
Then think not meanly of your state Ye myriad toilers of the earth ; ris ye that make the nations great, WiUiout ye, kings were little worth. And ye that gain with busy brain ihe wondrous triumphs of the mind, i our victories would be in vain But for the workers of mankind.
Oh! humble men, ye do great things, The earth is conquer'd by your toil: Tilth labour's sounds the valleys rin?. And Nature yields her corn and oil. At bench and loom ye toil and plan, Amid the seething city's strife ; Amd grimy ringers give to man The needs and luxuries of life. Onehunga. Thomas Sharps.
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Bibliographic details
Auckland Star, Volume XXIII, Issue 4292, 23 February 1884, Page 5 (Supplement)
Word Count
224SELECTED POETRY. Auckland Star, Volume XXIII, Issue 4292, 23 February 1884, Page 5 (Supplement)
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