Poems of Purpose

<h2><SPAN name="page91"></SPAN><span class="pagenum"></span>ANSWER</h2> <p class="poetry">O <span class="smcap">well</span> have we done the old tasks! in the old, old ways of earth.<br/> We have kept the house in order, we have given the children birth;<br/> And our sons went out with their fathers, and left us alone at the hearth!</p> <p class="poetry">We have cooked the meats for their table; we have woven their cloth at the loom;<br/> We have pulled the weeds from their gardens, and kept the flowers in bloom;<br/> And then we have sat and waited, alone in a silent room.</p> <p class="poetry">We have borne all the pains of travail in giving life to the race;<br/> <SPAN name="page92"></SPAN><span class="pagenum"></span>We have toiled and saved, for the masters, and helped them to power and place;<br/> And when we asked for a pittance, they gave it with grudging grace.</p> <p class="poetry">On the bold, bright face of the dollar all the evils of earth are shown.<br/> We are weary of love that is barter, and of virtue that pines alone;<br/> We are out in the world with the masters: we are finding and claiming our own!</p> <div style="break-after:column;"></div><br />