The Houston daily post. [volume] (Houston, Tex.) 1886-1903, 1900-01-22
TIE MAN WITHOUT Tue HOE,

For the Post.
An artist made a picture for all time.
A peasant work worn, bending DER his hoe
Above q gray, discouraged sky. around
A sullen. barron moor The painters hint
A poet caught and his immortal verse
Exslts the theme His clarion call swakes
The conscience Of the world when he Declares:
"Thers is no shape moro terrible than this
Yet there are shapes whose protests are as
As are the stined eurses Of this man
Through which the stunted minds and hope
less souls
Lock out upon the naaddeninr maze Of things.
The unemployed! the one VINO chained with
out,
Like Tantalus. must view Lilies feast in vain
He sees that tolls reward Is Outlines want,
That those who SOW are not allowed to reap,
Then chooses he the highways for his homo
Instead OF shaving for snothers gain
Canopied by the boundless blue, and Graded
within the arms OF night-companionod by
The wandering stsrs--can We condemn his
choice?
what though ho pilfer, beg and lean upon
The latent generosity In all3
What though in drunkenness or crime he try
To drown those hopes tho world will not al
low?
stu Is he victim, sinned against, oppressed :
and unto those who ccnsufe, let us quote
Tho Masters words: Judge not least ye
be Judged
Another man without the hos - he
Whom birth has placed above necessity.
His lifc-foree in perverted channels flows
He stands at last with all his talents rust
Unsoarred by noble conflict and without
The laurel-orown which wreathes the vlctor's
Another Is tho man OF high ideals
Who cannot catch the spirit of tho age
And work with IL. He. too, is doomed to
Apart, and vlsw the rugged heights OF thought
He had not strength TO climb, or having
Lacked power and mastery to stand upon
Mors pitfui than these is she to whom
Tbs hoe OF honest purpose Is denied;
Such dainty fingers were not made for
Men say: ION dew and sunshine should she
feed
A household drudge those dainty nnEers wear
And wrinkle, or. II in the world Of men
They do mans full part, they earn but half.
Their dew and sunshine otttlrnes 10 the bread
Bought by the bitter sale of self md soul.
Alasl that half the human race should be
slave, plsything. and parasite!
Throughout tho starry realm of boundless
The myriad systems move in perfect time;
on earth the miracle Of life and growth
Answers that same majestic, doathless law;
Above, the panorama Nature spreads,
Which whispers of immortal llfe-all all
Exist in harmony aud beauty. Man
Alone must err and suffer, strive and fail.
Is II the spark that stirs within tho elodP
We do not know. and yet when art torsakes
The Elysian helds OF beauty to portray
weary peasant bending Ger his hoe
Perhaps the universal conscience stirs
And shows us that, beneath It's seeming sins,
Humanity's great maynard, better heart
| Is pulsing In the rhythm Of tho right.
Perhans u Is the dawn of unity
And by its growing light the day will come
When wrong and anguish shall have dsap-
| peared.
And all tho Wondering strings OF earth's
rude harp
| VIII swell into n major harmony
! To match the music OF the morning stars
Tho seers Of old have dreamed this dream
| and In
| Its most exalted moods the soul OF man
Has thrilled deep response: II must be so
| Barton Pittman