Ballad Of The Seven O'Clock Whistle
By Richard 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!"