I always think that a little poetry can say a lot. This on is one from a favourite poet of mine. Joe Corrie.
Joe Corrie, miner, 1884-1968.
I AM THE COMMON
MAN.
I am the common man,
I am the brute and the slave,
I am the fool, the despised,
From the cradle to the grave.
I am the hewer of coal,
I am the tiller of soil,
I am the serf of the seas,
Born to bear and to toil.
I am the builder of halls,
I am the dweller of slums,
I am the filth and the scourge,
When winter's depression comes.
I am the fighter of wars,
I am the killer of men,
Not for a day or an age,
But again, and again, and again.
I am the common man,
But Master, oh! Take you heed,
For you have put in my head
Many a wicked deed.
I am the slave and the brute,
And my hands are a strong as steel,
Oh! Master, how will you fare
When down at my feet you kneel?
Joe Corrie.
