And The Greatest Of These —

In those extremes
Which we do not have here —
Itch of sweat, suns weight,
Rain through iron to the brain —
She's busy — calm, fair.
Old infants who don't cry,
Thin children with still eyes
Who neither laugh nor play
Which we do not have here —
In schools where hunger claims
And droops a hungry head,
In fields where custom squats
page 19 And rules old lines of waste
She's busy — calm, fair —
No grace, no gratitude,
Grudge against a life set on
At births blind ordering
Which we do not have here —
Wounds from any rage
(Attack, defence draw blood)
Beyond a cause, a blame
She's busy — calm, fair
With heart and hands for pain
Which we do not have here.

Mark Richards.