Upton Sinclair, ed. (1878–1968). rn The Cry for Justice: An Anthology of the Literature of Social Protest. 1915.

Mother Wept

Joseph Skipsey

(Contemporary English poet, whose work possesses a quaint simplicity, often suggesting Blake)

MOTHER wept, and father sighed;

With delight a-glow

Cried the lad, “Tomorrow,” cried,

“To the pit I go.”

Up and down the place he sped,—

Greeted old and young;

Far and wide the tidings spread;

Clapped his hands and sung.

Came his cronies; some to gaze

Rapt in wonder; some

Free with counsel; some with praise;

Some with envy dumb.

“May he,” many a gossip cried,

“Be from peril kept;”

Father hid his face and sighed,

Mother turned and wept.