Classic Poem

If you have borne the bitter taunts
Which proud, poor men must bear;
If you have felt the upstart's sneer
Your heart like iron sear;
If you have heard yourself belied,
Nor answer'd word nor blow;
You have endured as I have done —
And poverty you know!

If you have heard old mammon's laugh,
And borne of wealth the frown;
If you have felt your very soul
Destroyed and casten down, —
And been compelled to bear it all
For sake of daily bread —
Then have you suffered what is laid
Upon the poor man's head!

If you have seen your children starved,
And wished to bow and die —
Crushed by a load of bitterness,
Scorn, and contumely;
If misery has knaw'd your soul
Until its food grew pain —
Then you have shed the bloody tears
That cheeks of poor men stain!

There is a book, — and hypocrites
Say they believe it true, —
Which tells us men are equal all!
Do they believe and do?
No, vampires! Christ they crucify
In men of low degree:
Could souls decay — the poor man's soul
A mortal thing would be: