Let not young souls be smothered out before
They do quaint deeds and fully flaunt their pride.
It is the world's one crime its babes grow dull,
Its poor are ox-like, limp and leaden-eyed.
“Smothered out” refers to more than death. The author begins the poem with this main point: people are born with a kind of spiritual fire, and the world has a way of snuffing out that fire – either through death itself, or just through a gradual wearing down of spirit as people accept the mundane qualities of everyday life.
The Leaden Eyed