BROTHER, LOOK UP.
Though the clouds seem black and low’ring,
Hanging o’er with direful gloom;
Though the sun be veil’d in darkness,
And out path doth not illume.
Though we be denied the comforts
Which in better times we share,
Let us, ‘mid our sore bereavements,
Still look up, and not despair.
Each cloud hath its silver lining,
Each storm its succeeding calm;
Every dreary night its morning,
And disease its soothing balm.
Then our trials, be they heavy,
And our comforts, be they rare,
Let us, ‘mid our sore bereavements,
Still look up, and not despair.
Let us exercise our patience,
Still hope for a better day,
When our trade shall once more flourish,
Reign with universal sway.
Though that time may be far distant,
And our burden hard to bear,
Let us, ‘mid our sore bereavements,
Still look up, and not despair.
Title:Brother Look Up
Author:Daniel Livingstone Naylor
Publication:Rochdale Pilot
Published in:Rochdale
Date:Oct 4 1862
Keywords:morality, poverty, unemployment
Commentary
This poem is secular in its language but urges those suffering from the effects of Cotton Famine to have faith that it will one day be over. The refrain at the end of each stanza makes direct reference to ‘bereavements’ and reminds us that deaths from all kinds of causes were commonly associated with the economic deprivation caused by the loss of the cotton industry. – SR