Poetry Explorer- Classic Contemporary Poetry, THE PARIAH, by ROSE TOOTHAKER MILLILKEN


Poetry Explorer

Classic and Contemporary Poetry

THE PARIAH, by                    
First Line: I saw her kneeling in the garden plot
Last Line: I somehow knew her soul had found its god.
Subject(s): Alienation (social Psychology); Children; Gardens & Gardening; Life; Estrangement; Outcasts; Childhood


I saw her kneeling in the garden plot
With little children playing all around;
She looked at them and smiled, then bent again
To bury seeds within the soft warm ground.

They say that she has lived an unclean life,
Regarding not the laws of God or man,
They've torn her reputation into shreds
And scattered them as the selfrighteous can.

I cannot say, I have not known her long,
But something in her face is fine and strong.

I've seen her from my window crumble bread
To feed the birds that flock around her door,
And I have heard her, in the market place,
Ordering food and fuel for the poor.

She often pauses, on the busy streets,
To lead the lame and aged by the hand;
There must be innate kindness in her heart
That those who sneer can never understand.

And when she knelt upon the garden sod
I somehow knew her soul had found its God.





Discover our Poem Explanations and Poet Analyses!


Other Poems of Interest...
Home: PoetryExplorer.net