Aloll in the warm clear water,
On her back with languorous limbs,
She lies. The baby upon her breasts
Paddles and falls and swims.
With half-closed eyes she smiles,
Guarding it with her hands;
And the sob swells up in my heart--
In my heart that understands.
_Dear_, _in the English country_,
_The hatefullest land on earth_,
_The mothers are starved and the children die_,
_And death is better than birth_!