They pass me in the street, but others come, -

The ungainly and the dexterous,

The hungry, the children of the rich,

The cripples, the anxious, the slow,

The harmless and nameless, the destroyers,

The healthy who hurry as they go -

The ardent saying Yes to life, and Yes,

The stubborn stiffly thinking No.

They pass me in the street, but others come,-

The sweet defenceless dreamers,

The shufflers, the lonely, the loud,

The deft and delicate, the old and gray,

The evil, the aimless, the abrupt and proud.

And if I were Almighty God, and standing here,

I would hurl down light,

I would shake the street with light intense and clear,

I would smite

For pity's sake my children's fear,

To give them back their sight,-

Because I made them once for love,-

Because they have forgotten it was love.

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