[Editor: This poem by Mary Eliza Fullerton was published in Moods and Melodies: Sonnets and Lyrics (1908).]
The Mendicant
I saw poor Mis’ry clasp his trembling hand
To his last rag and weakly stormward set
His limping feet upon the pavement wet;
Upon his form the desecrating brand
That Life will press at Poverty’s command
On God’s own image when the gods forget
To pluck from Fate her misused marionette —
A drifting thing by all creation banned.
“And yet,” I thought, “he threads a careful way
Through all the chances of the hurrying street,
He loves Life still and cleaves to her to-day
Through every broken promise, all deceit;
Should Death this hour invite him ‘rest from strife,’
Still would he turn a suppliant to Life.”
Source:
Mary E. Fullerton, Moods and Melodies: Sonnets and Lyrics, Melbourne: Thomas C. Lothian, 1908, p. 36
Editor’s notes:
cleave = to adhere, attach, cling, or stick, to someone or something; to be emotionally devoted to someone; to adhere, or follow loyally and unwaveringly, to a person or cause (may also mean to split, part, or divide, such as by a cutting blow by an axe or sword, especially along a natural line of division, such as along a grain line in a piece of wood; to cut off or sever; to forcefully pass through or penetrate, such as through air, forest, or water)
mendicant = beggar; characteristic of or relating to begging (may also refer to a religious person, such as a monk, who historically did not own personal property, or who lived on alms)
Leave a Reply