What, said the doctor,
Little children at work
In factories and coalmines From daybreak to murk
I cannot see, he said,
With his notable charm
Seven days a week of this Can do them any harm
- Of course it crooks their backbones
And spoils their eyes
And whitens their blood
But it's all right otherwise:
And the minister agreed Keeps them from mischief he said.
Hugh MacDiarmid
http://www.carcanet.co.uk/cgi-bin/scribe?showdoc=220;doctype=review
