Singers
A bowl whereon wreaths of corn-flowers twine,
And along the rim these letters shine:
Not joy to the rich, to the poor man care;
Our toil and our pleasure alike we share.
And along the rim these letters shine:
Not joy to the rich, to the poor man care;
Our toil and our pleasure alike we share.
"The crowd makes way for the carriage to come,
The murmurs grow silent, the people stand dumb;
Only the sound of the bells is rolled,
Like a seraph-song from the blue down-sailing.
Then the heads are bared, both young and old.
Then matrons and maidens look pale and cold
As they stand by their balcony railing.
Unsparing, each tears in pieces
The necklace that brother or husband gave,
Strips off the rings that sparkle so brave,
And her arms from jewels releases.
They climb on the railings one and all
And into the mighty cup let fall
Their wealth, where the flowers blending
Hide with their petals the bad gold's gleam.
Like rain-drops in banded light descending,
From festive balconies falls the stream."
Ding! Dong!
"With sudden tears the most hardened of men
Swears to abide by his fellows then
In weal or woe his whole life long
As a son, a brother, one of their clay.
The tender woman in man shall bring
Redemption to all the world and ring
In the future's brothering-day."
The murmurs grow silent, the people stand dumb;
Only the sound of the bells is rolled,
Like a seraph-song from the blue down-sailing.
Then the heads are bared, both young and old.
Then matrons and maidens look pale and cold
As they stand by their balcony railing.
Unsparing, each tears in pieces
The necklace that brother or husband gave,
Strips off the rings that sparkle so brave,
And her arms from jewels releases.
They climb on the railings one and all
And into the mighty cup let fall
Their wealth, where the flowers blending
Hide with their petals the bad gold's gleam.
Like rain-drops in banded light descending,
From festive balconies falls the stream."
Ding! Dong!
"With sudden tears the most hardened of men
Swears to abide by his fellows then
In weal or woe his whole life long
As a son, a brother, one of their clay.
The tender woman in man shall bring
Redemption to all the world and ring
In the future's brothering-day."
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