Ralph Waldo Emerson, comp. (1803–1882). Parnassus: An Anthology of Poetry. 1880.
The LaborerJohn Clare (17931864)
T
Where no bush a shelter yields,
Needy Labor dithering stands,
Beats and blows his numbing hands,
And upon the crumping snows
Stamps in vain to warm his toes.
Poverty must brave the storm,
Friendship none its aid to lend,—
Constant health his only friend,
Granting leave to live in pain,
Giving strength to toil in vain.