Death & Dying
Alton Locke's Song
From Andromeda, and Other Poems
Weep, weep, weep and weep,
For pauper, dolt, and slave!
Hark! from wasted moor and fen,
Feverous alley, stifling den,
Swells the wail of Saxon men--
Work! or the grave!
Down, down, down and down,
With idler, knave, and tyrant!
Why for sluggards cark and moil?
He that will not live by toil
Has no right on English soil!
God's word's our warrant!
Up, up, up and up!
Face your game and play it!
The night is past, behold the sun!
The idols fall, the lie is done!
The Judge is set, the doom begun!
Who shall stay it?
Cite this poem
MLA
Kingsley, Charles. “Alton Locke's Song.” Poetry Codex, poetrycodex.com/poem/kingsley/28/.
Chicago
Kingsley, Charles. “Alton Locke's Song.” Poetry Codex. https://poetrycodex.com/poem/kingsley/28/.
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