In sun-bright paths, and in by-ways where shadows
Drift into darkness, spectres of the air,
Are upturned eyes, to whom the light seems anguish,
And groping hands outstretched for helping care.
Drift into darkness, spectres of the air,
Are upturned eyes, to whom the light seems anguish,
And groping hands outstretched for helping care.
And Woman's "right" it is to smile back comfort,
In her soft grasp to hold those groping hands,
And where, to weary hearts, life seems a burden,
Speak cheering words, like springs 'mid desert sands.
In her soft grasp to hold those groping hands,
And where, to weary hearts, life seems a burden,
Speak cheering words, like springs 'mid desert sands.
O sister woman! when our lives are rounded
To truest beauty earth could ever claim,—
Each "right" made perfect through accepted duties,
Whose full completion was our faithful aim;—
To truest beauty earth could ever claim,—
Each "right" made perfect through accepted duties,
Whose full completion was our faithful aim;—
When these lie all in finished grace around us,
And hands are idle, seeking work in vain,
Then, not till then, need we to claim new "missions,"
"Rights" that would prove a burden, and no gain.
And hands are idle, seeking work in vain,
Then, not till then, need we to claim new "missions,"
"Rights" that would prove a burden, and no gain.
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