Question

The next man looking 'cross the way
Saw one not of his church
And Couldn't bring himself to give 
The fire his stick of birch.

The third one sat in tattered clothes.
He gave his coat a hitch.
Why should his log be put to use
To warm the idle rich?
The rich man just sat back and thought 
of the wealth he had in store
And how to keep what he had earned
From the lazy shiftless poor.

Read the lines given above and answer the question that follow.

Explain with reference to context

Answer 1

These lines are from the poem, ‘The Cold Within’ written by James Kinney. The poem touches on how each of the people around the fire died because of the “Cold Within,” and because of their inability to accept each other. The second man mentioned in these lines is a bigot and does not want to help the man who was not from his religion. The poor man did not want to help the idle rich while the rich man wanted to keep his wealth from the poor. They are consumed by the negativity of intolerance, envy and bitterness.