"Carry your suitcase, Sir?" he said. <br />I turned away to hide a grin, <br />For he was shorter by a head <br />Than I and pitiably thin. <br />I could have made a pair of him, <br />So with my load I stoutly legged; <br />But his tenacity was grim: <br />"Please let me help you, sir," he begged. <br /> <br />I could not shake the fellow off, <br />So let him shoulder my valise; <br />He tottered with a racking cough <br />That did not give him any peace. <br />He lagged so limply in my wake <br />I made him put the burden down, <br />Saying: "A taxi I will take," <br />And grimly gave him half-a-crown. <br /> <br />Poor devil! I am sure he had <br />Not eaten anything that day; <br />His eyes so hungrily were glad, <br />Although his lips were ashen grey. <br />He vanished in the callous crowd, <br />Then when he was no more around, <br />I lugged my bag and thought aloud: <br />"I wish I'd given him a pound." <br /> <br />And strangely I felt sore ashamed, <br />As if somehow I had lost face; <br />And not only myself I blamed <br />But all the blasted human race; <br />And all this life of battle where <br />The poor are beaten to their knees, <br />And while the weak the burdens bear, <br />Fat fools like me can stroll at ease.<br /><br />Robert William Service<br /><br />http://www.poemhunter.com/poem/contrast-2/
