 | The Vale of Arden and Other Poems |  |
40
PRO TEMPORE
Sick of the tumult, weary of the wail,That grateth where the city's breath is sour
With greed's unclean disease, where children cower
In noisome dens, and women gaunt and pale
Pollute their souls for bread, our hearts would fail
But for the faith that in some wiser hour
Men will possess in peace the world's rich bower;
Envy depart and righteousness prevail.
And yet, though other eyes than ours will see
The far fulfilment of our larger hope,
Justice ordains and pity pleads that we
Should cull one garland from the sunny slope
Where ease reclines, to gladden those who grope
In shades of want and sloughs of misery.
| The Vale of Arden and Other Poems | |