"An Old Char-Woman", the inscription read Beneath the worn old figure in the hall, Just as she paused a moment to let fall Her brush a while to raise her tired head. It was no fabled beauty, long since dead, Born out of ages in Time's faint recall, Carved from this marble, gracious, fair and tall, But just a bent old char-woman instead. A piece of faultless marble, clear and fine, Reared slowly by the process of the years Is now transfigured in this holy place. And so is menial labor made divine: But still her cheeks are creased by many tears, Ancestral ages' suffering mars her face. | Discover our Poem Explanations and Poet Analyses!Other Poems of Interest...THE RIVALS by JAMES WELDON JOHNSON OWL AGAINST ROBIN by SIDNEY LANIER MATER AMABILIS by EMMA LAZARUS MONADNOCK IN EARLY SPRING by AMY LOWELL GLASS HOUSES by EDWIN ARLINGTON ROBINSON |