English Poetry. Vachel Lindsay. The Leaden-Eyed. Вэчел Линдсей.

Vachel Lindsay (Вэчел Линдсей)

The Leaden-Eyed

Let not young souls be smothered out before
They do quaint deeds and fully flaunt their pride.
It is the world’s one crime its babes grow dull,
Its poor are ox-like, limp and leaden-eyed.
Not that they starve; but starve so dreamlessly,
Not that they sow, but that they seldom reap,
Not that they serve, but have no gods to serve,
Not that they die, but that they die like sheep.

Vachel Lindsay’s other poems:

1. The Potatoes’ Dance
2. I Heard Immanuel Singing
3. When Gassy Thompson Struck It Rich
4. The Tree of Laughing Bells
5. Where Is David, the Next King of Israel?

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