Relief

Relief [No. 4]

Open thine ears to listen to the tale
Which Sorrow longs to tell thee; let thy heart
Sympathise with all suffering; or no part
Of Masonry is thine. If thy hand fail
To deal such bounty as thou canst afford; 5
Or thy heart fail in sympathy, though thou
May give relief reluctantly,—bestow
Alms thou hadst rather hoarded; sweet accord
With our dear Craft dwells not within thy soul.
We must relieve the destitute, or we 10
Are rank impostors in Freemasonry,—
Which all our thoughts and feelings should control
To give Relief, by kindly word and deed,
To Brother, Widow, Orphan, and to all who need.

by George Markham Tweddell  1st published 1887