Bowed beneath the dead'ning weight of Woe,
Crawling 'neath the galling yoke of Owe:
Obligation's hand
Beats him with his wand,
And his restless bed his burden knows!
'Neath stern Justice's ever grinding heels,
In Debt's prison now he sadly kneels;
Fettered with Due's claim,
Pilloried with shame!
And no tongue can tell pain he feels.
Fortunate is he if now he bear
Not a greater burden than this care;—
If his soul is free
From sin's misery
He may work 'til life again is fair.
This poem is in the public domain.