Do they know? At the turn to the straight Where the favourites fail, And every last atom of weight Is telling its tale; As some grim old stayer hard-pressed Runs true to his breed, And with head just in front of the rest Fights on in the lead; When the jockeys are out with the whips, With a furlong to go, And the backers grow white to the lips -- Do you think @3they@1 don't know? Do they know? As they come back to weigh In a whirlwind of cheers, Though the spurs have left marks of the fray, Though the sweat on the ears Gathers cold, and they sob with distress As they roll up the track, They know just as well their success As the man on their back. As they walk through a dense human lane That sways to and fro, And cheers them again and again, Do you think @3they@1 don't know? | Discover our Poem Explanations and Poet Analyses!Other Poems of Interest...ANSWER TO PRAYER by JAMES WELDON JOHNSON TO-MORROW TO FRESH WOODS AND PASTURES NEW' by AMY LOWELL AN ISLAND (SAINT HELENA, 1821) by EDWIN ARLINGTON ROBINSON OLD OSAWATOMIE by CARL SANDBURG THE SONG OF THE MAD WOMAN'S SON by KAREN SWENSON |