West London By Matthew Arnold

Crouched on the pavement close by Belgrave Square,
A tramp I saw, ill, moody, and tongue-tied:
A babe was in her arms, and at her side
A girl; their clothes were rags, their feet were bare.

Some labouring men, whose work lay somewhere there,
Passed opposite; she touched her girl, who hied
Across, and begged, and came back satisfied.
The rich she had let pass with frozen stare.

Thought I: Above her state this spirit towers;
She will not ask of aliens, but of friends,
Of sharers in a common human fate.

She turns from that cold succour which attends
The unknown little from the unknowing great,
And points us to a better time than ours.


This poem is describing West London, which from the description, I would guess it be similar to East Vancouver. The rhyme scheme is ABBA ABBA CDE DEC. In the first stanza, it describes a prostitute holding a baby in her arms with a small girl beside her. They are homeless, ill, cold, and dont even have enough money for shoes. They beg for money, and men who work near by give them some spare change. But they dislike the rich, and only interact with the people in the same situation as they are. The poor are very much disregarded, and the "unknowing great", or the rich, pass by hardly noticing them much of the time. This is a cold poem, therefore would probably be used in a winter month such as November.