I watched them tearing a building down, A gang of men in a busy town; With a heave-ho and a lusty yell They swung a beam, and the building fell.
I asked the foreman, “Are these men skilled, And the men you’d hire if you had to build?” He gave a laugh and said, “No, indeed, Just common labor is all I need; I can easily wreck in a day or two What builders have taken a year to do.”
And I thought to myself as I went my way, Which of these roles have I tried to play? Am I a builder who works with care, Measuring life by the rule and square?
Am I shaping my deeds to a well-made plan, Patiently doing the best I can? Or am I a wrecker who walks the town, Content with the labor of tearing down?
- Edgar Guest
