FREE ESSAY ON THE COLD WITHIN

THE COLD WITHIN

The Cold Within 
Six humans trapped by happenstance in black and bitter cold 
Each possessed a stick of wood, 
Or so the story's told. 
Their dying fire in need of logs, the first woman held hers back 
For on the faces around the fire 
She noticed one was black. 
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. 
The black man's face bespoke revenge 
As the fire passed from his sight, 
For all he saw in his stick of wood 
Was a chance to spite the white. 
And the last man of this forlorn group 
Did naught except for gain, 
Giving only to those who gave 
Was how he played the game. 
The logs held tight in death's stilled hands 
Was proof of human sin, 
They didn't die from the cold without, 
They died from the cold within.
Bibliography
Found it awhile exploring the internet. It was written by someone else