Classic Poem

All around you, everywhere,
Men and women do and dare,
Swift, alert, aware, alive,
In the swarming human hive.

Up and down, and to and fro,
On an endless round they go;
Patiently they bear their lot,
Life and death they question not.

If the wind blow east, or west,
They can neither play nor rest;
So much work beneath the sun,
Can they die with it undone?

You, an idler, hear no toll
Of lost chances in your soul,
Having neither name nor place,
With the runners in the race.

Are you made of finer clay?
Have you redder blood than they?
Must they always lay the meat
Which they strive for, at your feet?

Must they always, first and last,
Stand between you and the blast?
Are you God's peculiar care?
Has He favorites anywhere?

All around you, everywhere,
Men and women do and dare,
Swift, alert, aware, alive,
In the swarming human hive.

Up and down, and to and fro,
On an endless round they go;
Patiently they bear their lot,
Life and death they question not.

If the wind blow east, or west,
They can neither play nor rest;
So much work beneath the sun,
Can they die with it undone?

You, an idler, hear no toll
Of lost chances in your soul,
Having neither name nor place,
With the runners in the race.

Are you made of finer clay?
Have you redder blood than they?
Must they always lay the meat
Which they strive for, at your feet?

Must they always, first and last,
Stand between you and the blast?
Are you God's peculiar care?
Has He favorites anywhere?