The Englishman and Other Poems | Page 7

heart they rested under ere they saw the light of day,
Must the daughters and the sons be taught this truth;?Till they think of it with wonder, as a holy thing alway;
While love's wisdom guides them safely through their youth.
Oh, the world has made its devil, and the Mothers let it grow;
And the Man has dragged their thoughts down to the earth. There will be no Social Evil, when each waking mind shall know
All the grandeur and the beauty hid in birth.
When each Mother sets the fashion to win confidence, and trust,
And to teach the mighty lesson, Self-Control,?We can lift the great Sex passion from the darkness and the dust,
And enshrine it on the altar of the soul.
THE FORECAST
It may be that I dreamed a dream; it may be that I saw?The forecast of a time to come by some supernal law.
I seemed to dwell in this same world, and in this modern time; Yet nowhere was there sight or sound of poverty or crime.?All strife had ceased; men were disarmed; and quiet Peace had made A thousand avenues for toil, in place of War's grim trade.?From east to west, from north to south where highways smooth and broad?Tied State to State, the waste lands bloomed, like garden spots of God.?There were no beggars in the streets; there were no unemployed, For each man owned his plot of ground, and laboured and enjoyed. Sweet children grew like garden flowers; all strong and fair to see; And when I marvelled at the sight, thus spake a Voice to me: 'All Motherhood is now an art; the greatest art on earth;?And nowhere is there known the crime of one unwelcome birth From rights of parentage the sick and sinful are debarred;?For Matron Science keeps our house, and at the door stands guard. We know the cure for darkness lies in letting in the light; And Prisons are replaced by Schools, where wrong views change to right.?The wisdom, knowledge, study, thought, once bent on beast and sod, We give now to the human race, the highest work of God;?And, as the gardener chooses seed, so we select with care;?And as our Man Plant grows, we give him soil and sun and air. There are no slums; no need of alms; all men are opulent,?For Mother Earth belongs to them, as was the First Intent.'
It may be that I dreamed a dream; it may be that I saw?The forecast of a time to come by some supernal law.
LITTLE GIRLS
Whether you frolic with comrade boys,?Or sit at your studies, or play with toys,?Whatever your station, or place, or sphere,?For just one purpose God sent you here;?And always and ever, you are to me -?Dear little Mothers, of Men to be.
So would I guard you from all mean things;?From the dwarfing of wealth, and from poverty's stings.?And from silly mothers of fuss and show,?And from dissolute fathers whose aims are low,?I would take you, and shield you, and set you free,?Dear little Mothers, of Men to be.
And then were the wish of my heart fulfilled,?Around about you, the world should build?A wall of Wisdom, with Truth for its Tower,?Where mind and body would wax in power,?Till the tender twig was a splendid tree -?Dear little Mothers, of Men to be.
It is only a dream; but the world grows wise,?And a mighty truth in the dream seed lies?That shall gladden the earth, in its time and place.?WE MUST BETTER THE MOTHERS TO BETTER THE RACE.?A dream? nay, a vision, which all must see,?Dear little Mothers, of Men to be.
SCIENCE
Alone I climb the steep ascending path?Which leads to knowledge. In the babbling throngs?That hurry after, shouting to the world?Small fragments of large truths, there is not one?Who comprehends my purpose, or who sees?The ultimate great goal. Why, even she,?My heaven intended Spouse, my other self,?Religion, turns her beauteous face on me?With hatred in the eyes, where love should dwell.?While those who call me Master blindly run,?Wounding the ear of Faith with blasphemies,?And making useless slaughter in my name.
Mine is the difficult slow task to blaze?A road of Facts, through labyrinths of dreams?To tear down Maybe and establish IS:?And substitute I Know for I Believe.?I follow closely where the Seers have led:?But that intangible dim path of theirs,?Which may be trodden but by other Seers,?I seek to render solid for the feet?Of all mankind. With reverent hands I lift?The mask from Mystery: and show the face?Of Reason, smiling bravely on the world.?The visions of the prophets, one by one,?Grew visible beneath my tireless touch:?And the white secrets of elusive stars?I tell aloud, to listening multitudes.
To fit the better world my toil ensures,?Time will impregnate with a better race?The Future's womb: and when the hour is ripe,?To ready eyes of men, the alien spheres?Shall seem as friendly neighbours: and my skill?Shall