Lighted Coffins In The Dark

The Sleepers

 

AS I walked down the waterside

This silent morning, wet and dark;

Before the cocks in farmyards crowed,

Before the dogs began to bark;

Before the hour of five was struck

By old Westminster's mighty clock:

As I walked down the waterside

This morning, in the cold damp air,

I saw a hundred women and men

Huddled in rags and sleeping there:
These people have no work, thought I,

And long before their time they die.

That moment, on the waterside,

A lighted car came at a bound;

I looked inside, and saw a score

Of pale and weary men that frowned;

Each man sat in a huddled heap,

Carried to work while fast asleep.

Ten cars rushed down the waterside

Like lighted coffins in the dark;

With twenty dead men in each car,

That must be brought alive by work:

These people work too hard, thought I,

And long before their time they die.

--WH Davies--

The Moderate Life

A little work;
A little rest;
A little food;
A simple jest;
A friend or two;
A dog or cat;
A light romance;
A petty spat;
A cozy home
Not grand nor meager;
Content to dwell,
Not loathe nor eager;
Complaints are small;
Discussions rare;
Small anecdotes
Prevail there.
From constant smallness
Rescue me!
Let moderation
Mod'rate be!
--me--