Towards democracy

The One Foundation —301

To dedicate the gracious fruits of the ground to all divine uses?

Think of it—

To grow rich and beautiful crops for human food, and flowers and fruits to rejoice the eye and heart,

What a privilege!

Yet this to-day is a burden and a degradation, thrust upon the poor and despised.

The Scotch farm-lad strides across the ploughed leas, scattering with princely hand the bread of thousands;

The Italian peasant ties his vines to the trellised canes with twigs of broom, and the spring sunlight glances and twinkles on him from the cistern just below;

The Danish boy drives the herds home from the lowlying pasture-lands in the sweet clear air of eyening ;

And the world which is built upon the labor of these disowns them, and they themselves sink earthward worn out with unheeded toil ;

While the Politician and the Merchant who flourish on lies and fill the people’s ears and mouths with chaff are -publicly seated in the highest places,

And the Earth rolls on, with all her burden of love unheeded,

And sadness falls on the peoples divorced ‘rom the breasts that fain would suckle them.

Think of it—

i) ON