Page:Poems Cook.djvu/396

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THE DREAMER.
  "What! still idle, thou dreamer—
  Thou bubble-blown schemer;
Still useless on earth?" cried the sneer-darken'd lip;
  "Can that mortal inherit
  A shadow of merit,
Who lives out the day seeing willow leaves dip?

  "You aid not in felling
  The wood for man's dwelling—
You twine not a thread for his doublet and vest—
  You've no sheaves for the binding—
  No mill for the grinding—
No tool in the hand, and no corselet on breast!

  "No vessel is riding,
  That owneth thy guiding—
Thou help'st not to fashion the hull nor the mast—
  You've no forge for her chain-gear,
  No loom for her main-gear—
No ball in the battle, no rope in the blast!

  "Thou art not a master
  Of forest or pasture—
Thy name is unknown in the Commerce of Gold;
  You've no dappled herds lowing,
  No purple grapes growing,
No stock have you bought, and no land have you sold!

  "You delve not for fuel—
  You polish no jewel—
You pave not the city—you plough not the sward;
  You help not a neighbour
  With sweat-drop of labour—
What right canst THOU have at Humanity's board?

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