It sounds to him like her mother's voice,
Singing in Paradise!

He needs must think of her once more,
How in the grave she lies;

And with his hard, rough hand he wipes
A tear out of his eyes.

Toiling - rejoicing — sorrowing,
Onward through life he goes;
Each morning sees some task begun;
Each evening sees its close;
Something attempted, something done,
Has earned a night's repose.

Thanks, thanks to thee, my worthy friend,
For the lesson thou hast taught!
Thus at the flaming forge of life
Our fortunes must be wrought;
Thus on its sounding anvil shaped
Each burning deed and thought!

4. I HEAR AMERICA SINGING

WALT WHITMAN

I hear America singing, the varied carols I hear,

Those of mechanics, each one singing his as it should be, blithe

and strong,

The carpenter singing his, as he measures his plank or beam, The mason singing his, as he makes ready for work, or leaves off work,

The boatman singing what belongs to him in the boat, the deckhand singing on the steamboat deck,

The shoemaker singing as he sits on his bench, the hatter singing as he stands,

The wood-cutter's song, the ploughboy's, on his way in the morning, or at noon intermission, or at sundown,

The delicious singing of the mother, or of the young wife at work, or of the girl sewing or washing,

Each singing what belongs to him or her and to none else,

The day what belongs to the day at night, the party of young

fellows, robust, friendly,

Singing, with open mouths, their strong melodious songs.

5. THE SONG OF THE WORLD

ISABEL BOWMAN FINLEY

There's a song that the hammer is singing,
A ringing and wholesome song,

Of the day's bread won,

Of the day's work done,

Of a mould well cast

In the fiery blast

And never one blow gone wrong.

There's a song that the engines are singing,

A deep and echoing song,

Of the whirring wheel
And the burnished steel,
From the lightest spring
To the mightiest swing

And never a stroke gone wrong.

There's a song that the sails are singing,
A humming and catching song,

Of the prow that braves

The ravening waves,

Of storms outsailed,

And of ports safe hailed

And never the helm gone wrong.

There's a song that the world is singing,
A resonant, splendid song,

Of its work, work, work,

With never a shirk,

Of its battles won,

Of its labors done

And of Right that masters Wrong!

CLASS ACTIVITIES

1. A committee may collect and report the votes of the class on these poems, scoring them as follows:

Members of the class give, reasons for their preferences.

2. Poets frequently produce a desired effect by repetition. Notice, for example, Sandburg's repetition of the word "long" in the second line of the next to the last stanza. Point out other instances of repetition in these poems and tell the effect which the poet is trying to produce in each case. Compare with the methods used by Duer, Lee, and Poe (see Book One, pp. 348, 349, and 362).

3. Which of the five poems most resembles Lee's "Fire!" (Book One, p. 349). Point out the detail, or details, in which the two poems are similar.

4. Name the "varied carols" which Whitman heard. Compare his poem in this respect with Sandburg's and with Finley's.

5. What is the chief difference between Finley's poem and the other three? What thought is alike in all these poems?

6. Does Sandburg like the people about whom he writes? Read the sentence which shows his attitude. Do the other poets like the workers? Read lines containing the answer.

7. Explain these lines:

a. "The creaking of the crane."

b. "Each singing what belongs to him or her and to no one else." c. "How the hands of the work gangs smelled of hope."

d. "The night watchmen stuff their pipes with dreams.'

e. "Something attempted, something done,

Has earned a night's repose."

f. "And never one blow gone wrong."

8. How does debt prevent a person's looking the world in the face? 9. Point out figures of speech which you think are especially appropriate in these poems; read the lines you like best in each poem.

POEMS ON WORK (add others to the list and bring to class the one you like best). — I. "The Blacksmith,” J. Masefield. 2. "The Song of the Shirt," T. Hood. 3. "Factories," M. Widdemer. 4. "The Singing Man," J. P. Peabody. 5. "The Symphony," S. Lanier. 6. "The Flower Factory," F. Wilkinson, in M. Wilkinson's New Voices, 231.

BUILDERS ALL!

The greatest contribution of Theodore Roosevelt to the American people was himself. The same may be said of Lincoln, Washington, and Franklin. Indeed, we are all makers and builders and the most important structure we raise is not made of wood, brick, stone, or steel. Our most important structure is character; it is the result of our daily thoughts, dreams, and deeds. How is this truth brought out in the next two poems?

6. THE BUILDER

GLENN WARD DRESBACH

How great will be the thing that he builds?
Not quite so great as his dreams are great;
Not quite so high as his hopes are high;
And long he must build and wait.
But the glory is, if he builds what he can,
That all the while he is building a Man!

And what will he build as the years go by,
With stone or steel or the might of a theme?
No mansion, we know, can he ever build
Out of a cottage dream.

But the glory is, if he builds at all,

That his soul can look o'er the highest wall!

7. A BUILDER'S LESSON

JOHN BOYLE O'REILLY

"How shall I a habit break?"
As you did that habit make.

As you gathered, you must lose;
As you yielded, now refuse.

Thread by thread the strands we twist
Till they bind us, neck and wrist;
Thread by thread the patient hand
Must untwine, ere free we stand.

As we builded, stone by stone,
We must toil, unhelped, alone,
Till the wall is overthrown.

But remember, as we try,
Lighter every test goes by;
Wading in, the stream grows deep
Toward the center's downward sweep;
Backward turn, each step ashore
Shallower is than before.

Ah, the precious years we waste
Levelling what we raised in haste:
Doing what must be undone
Ere content or love be won!

First, across the gulf we cast

Kite-borne threads, till lines are passed.
And habit builds the bridge at last!

CLASS ACTIVITIES

1. Tell which of these poems is easier to understand. What makes it simpler than the other poem — its vocabulary, its sentence structure, or its thought?

2. Why cannot that which one builds be "quite so great as his dreams are great"? Does this contradict what Braley says in the last two lines of "The Thinker," p. 153? Note also question No. 7 on p. 154. 3. Does Dresbach mean that one should not have great dreams? Read the two lines in the second stanza which help you answer this question.

4. Explain the last two lines in both of the stanzas of "The Builder." Do they express the same thought?

5. How can a person build a habit? Tell about a habit you have built. 6. Which stanza best sums up the main idea in "The Builder's Lesson"? See how few times you need to read this stanza before you can repeat it from memory.

7. Tell how the two poems explain the statements on p. 207.

8. For a volunteer: Read and report on four rules to follow in forming a habit. (See H. D. Kitson, How to Use Your Mind, 64–72, or R. L. Lyman, The Mind at Work, 93–100.).