VOICE OF THE VOICELESS

by Ella Wheeler Wilcox, 1913
Poet Laureate of Humanity

I am the voice of the voiceless: 
Through me, the dumb shall speak;
Till the deaf world's ear be made to hear 
The cry of the wordless weak.
From street, from cage, and from kennel, 
From jungle and stall, the wail
Of my tortured kin proclaims the sin 
Of the mighty against the frail.

For love is the true religion, 
And love is the law sublime;
And all that is wrought, where love is not, 
Will die at the touch of time.
And Science, the great Revealer, 
Must flame his torch at the Source;
And keep it bright, with that holy light 
Or his feet shall fail on the course.

For he who would trample kindness 
And mercy into the dust--
He has missed the trail, and his quest will fail: 
He is not the guide to trust.
Oh shame on the mothers of mortals 
Who have not stopped to teach
Of the sorrow that lies in dear, dumb eyes, 
The sorrow that has no speech.