Renunciation

When hungry millions are unfed 
And the little orphans weep,
I cannot eat in peace my bread, 
Nor sing my grief to sleep.
When thoughts arising from the heart 
Are hampered in their flight,
I cannot sit and muse apart 
Upon a dreamy height.

When craven lies oft seek to blind 
The eyes of blazing Truth,
I cannot turn my maddened mind 
To songs of love and youth,
Nor can I sing in lyric strains 
Of private, little woes,
When Greed is reaping golden gains 
From bloody seeds it sows.