Explore "Luther Benson. after Reading his Autobiography" by James Whitcomb Riley on Textopian. Read with annotations and highlights.
POOR victim of that vulture curse / That hovers o'er the universe, / With ready talons quick to strike / In every human heart alike, / And cruel beak to stab and tear / In virtue's vitals everywhere, -- / You need no sympathy of mine / To aid you, for a strength divine / Encircles you, and lifts you clear / Above this earthly atmosphere.
And yet I can but call you poor, / As, looking through the open door / Of your sad life, I only see / A broad landscape of misery, / And catch through mists of pitying tears / The ruins of your younger years, / I see a father's shielding arm / Thrown round you in a wild alarm -- / Struck down, and powerless to free / Or aid you in your agony.