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...AT THE CHURCH DOOR by GEORGE SANTAYANA THE SONG MAKER by SARA TEASDALE MY AIN COUNTRIE by MARY LEE DEMAREST SPOON RIVER ANTHOLOGY: CARL HAMBLIN by EDGAR LEE MASTERS LANDSCAPE; TWILIGHT by THOMAS BAILEY ALDRICH THE RUINS OF CORINTH by ANTIPATER OF SIDON THE ARGONAUTS (ARGONATUICA): THE MOVING ROCKS by APOLLONIUS RHODIUS EMBLEMS OF LOVE: 17. THE DIFFICULT ADVENTURE by PHILIP AYRES |