Ballad Of The Seven O'clock Whistle

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Title:     Ballad Of The Seven O'clock Whistle
Author: Richard Le Gallienne [More Titles by Le Gallienne]

The daisied dawn is in the sky,
And the young day still dew and dream,
When on the innocent morning air
There comes a terrifying scream;

And the four ends of the sad earth
Repeat the hellish dreadful call;
Soft ladies murmur in soft beds--
"The morning whistle--that is all!"

And I too turn to sleep once more,
A haunted sleep all filled with pain;
For in my sleep I see the men,
The victims of colossal Gain,

Troop in the doors of servitude;
I see the children weary-eyed,
I see the time-clock, and I see
The endless day that glooms inside.

It is the Moloch of the dawn,
Capital calling for its prey--
Men, women and little boys and girls,
It's human sacrifice each day.

And, as I hear that dreadful scream,
High in the dawn all filled with song,--
I pray within my aching heart--"O Lord!
O Lord! How long! How long!"

[The end]
Richard Le Gallienne's poem: Ballad Of The Seven O'clock Whistle

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