Claude McKay’s Workers’ Dreadnought Poetry (1919-1920) | Reality
Reality (April 24, 1920. Signed as Hugh Hope)
For one soul saved from wreck so many lost;
For one fair flower so many loathsome weeds;
For one calm sea so many tempest-tossed;
One act of love so many hateful deeds.
For one slight ray of hope a million fears;
One day of peace long bitter years of strife;
One hollow laugh a thousand genuine tears;
Such is the grim reality of life.