Classic Poem

The blind men add the figures, draw the maps.
—The deaf men blow the bugles, beat the drums.
And peace becomes a wavering perhaps,
—And war a tidal wave that goes and comes.

The legless men march forward to success.
—The armless men cry: “Victory within reach!”
And life becomes a length of more or less,
—With sure uncertainty for all and each.

The men without a heart dispense relief,
—The mindless men devise a master plan.
The perfect government ensues, in brief,
—The Commonwealth of Man without the man.

The blind men add the figures, draw the maps.
The deaf men blow the bugles, beat the drums.
And peace becomes a wavering perhaps,
And war a tidal wave that goes and comes.

The legless men march forward to success.
The armless men cry: “Victory within reach!”
And life becomes a length of more or less,
With sure uncertainty for all and each.

The men without a heart dispense relief,
The mindless men devise a master plan.
The perfect government ensues, in brief,
The Commonwealth of Man without the man.