一个光着脚的孩子站在十字路口，扫去泥土;一个穿着丝绸和钻石的女士，为虚荣的炫耀而自豪;路沿石上瞎眼的乞丐、行路的财主。一个拿着小手鼓的小孩在歌声中哀鸣着她的生命。一个穷人乘着孤零零的灵车经过，匆匆奔向坟墓;一列马车，宏大的音乐，还有飘舞的羽毛。因为那永远没有哀恸者的，他永远数算大地;另一方面，降半旗，今天整个城市都披上了黑色。一个士兵，一只袖子空着，悲哀地挂在身边，另一只在健康和骄傲的红潮中拖着脚步;一个跛脚的女孩在拥挤拥挤的街道上缓慢地走着，她含泪凝视着那些心情轻盈的行人。一个残废的女人在卖弄，仿佛为她的耻辱而骄傲;一个更纯洁的妹妹，她那谦虚的双颊，一听到这个名字就会涨红; A petty thief stealing in terror, Afraid in your face to gaze, And one who has robbed by the thousands, Courting the sun's broad blaza. The millionaire in his carriage, The workman plodding along, The humble follower of the right, And the slave of the giant wrong; The murderer seeking a refuge, Looking ever wearily back, And the sleuth hounds of the broken law Following silently in his track. The judge, freed now of the ermine, Pompous of place and power, And the shivering wretch his word will doom To prison within an hour; The miser clutching his pennies, The spendthrift squandering gold, The meeked-eyed Sister of Mercy, And the woman brazen and bold. The widow, in weeds of blackness, Meets the bride at the church door-- The future for one holds nothing but tears, But joy for the other in store. A cradle jostles a coffin-- Orange-flowers, with honeyed breath, Are wove by the self-same fingers That but now made a cross for death. Dives and Lazarus elbow Each other whene'er they meet, And the crumbs from the rich man's table Feed the beggar upon the street. And penury crowdeth plenty, And sin stalks boldly abroad, And the infidel holds his head proudly As the child of the living God. The bee in its ceaseless searching Finds sweets in each flower fair, And the noisome spider, creeping up, Finds nothing but poison there. And so life is made up of contrasts-- Rich and poor, coward and brave, Virtue and vice, and all will find Equality in the grave.