Poetry Explorer

Classic and Contemporary Poetry

THE LEADEN-EYED by NICHOLAS VACHEL LINDSAY

Poet Analysis

First Line: LET NOT YOUNG SOULS BE SMOTHERED OUT BEFORE
Last Line: NOT THAT THEY DIE, BUT THAT THEY DIE LIKE SHEEP.
Subject(s): POVERTY; RELIGION; SOCIAL PROTEST; THEOLOGY;
Let not young souls be smothered out before
They do quaint deeds and fully flaunt their pride.
It is the world's one crime its babes grow dull,
Its poor are ox-like, limp and leaden-eyed.

Not that they starve, but starve so dreamlessly,
Not that they sow, but that they seldom reap,
Not that they serve, but have no gods to serve,
Not that they die, but that they die like sheep.



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