A toiler bent a patient back Above a yawning pit, And time, and strength, and love, and wealth, He shovelled into it. And still, though many years he toiled, And bitterly he cursed, The pit remained a hollow hole, As empty as at first. A second workman bent his back Above a second pit, And time, and strength, and love, and wealth, He shovelled into it. And lo! before the sun was set, The pit was brimming o'er With ruddy gold and jewels rare, A vast, exhaustless store! Oh! toiler in the field of life, 'Tis not the work you do, But where you do it, and for what, Means bane or bliss for you. Alike into a yawning pit, May go your strength, your pelf; But one pit is the church of God, The other is -- your SELF. | Discover our Poem Explanations and Poet Analyses!Other Poems of Interest...CAPPER KAPLINSKI AT THE NORTH SIDE CUE CLUB by HAYDEN CARRUTH THE EXECUTIVE by DAVID IGNATOW AFTERGLOW by GEORGIA DOUGLAS JOHNSON ROMANCE by GEORGIA DOUGLAS JOHNSON SURFACES AND MASKS; 2 by CLARENCE MAJOR A MAN CHILD IS BORN (1839) by EDGAR LEE MASTERS JOHN WILKES BOOTH AT THE FARM (JANUARY 12, 1848) by EDGAR LEE MASTERS |