Page:The cry for justice - an anthology of the literature of social protest. - (IA cryforjusticea00sinc).pdf/530

 In the Market-Place

(From "Beyond the Breakers")

(California poet, born 1869)

In Babylon, high Babylon, What gear is bought and sold? All merchandise beneath the sun That bartered is for gold; Amber and oils from far beyond The desert and the fen, And wines whereof our throats are fond— Yea! and the souls of men!

In Babylon, grey Babylon, What goods are sold and bought? Vesture of linen subtly spun, And cups from agate wrought; Raiment of many-colored silk For some fair denizen, And ivory more white than milk— Yea! and the souls of men!

In Babylon, sad Babylon, What chattels shall invite? A wife whenas your youth is done, Or leman for a night. Before Astarte's portico The torches flare again; The shadows come, the shadows go— Yea! and the souls of men!