Faces in the Street by Henry Lawson — Read

They lie, the men who tell us in a loud decisive tone That want is here a stranger, and that misery's unknown; For where the nearest suburb and the city proper meet My window-sill is level with the faces in the street -- Drifting past, drifting past, To the beat of weary feet -- While I sorrow for the owners of those faces in the street.

And cause I have to sorrow, in a land so young and fair, To see upon those faces stamped the marks of Want and Care; I look in vain for traces of the fresh and fair and sweet In sallow, sunken faces that are drifting through the street -- Drifting on, drifting on, To the scrape of restless feet; I can sorrow for the owners of the faces in the street.