Vachel Lindsay (Вэчел Линдсей)

What the Coal-Heaver Said


The moon’s an open furnace door
Where all can see the blast,
We shovel in our blackest griefs,
Upon that grate are cast
Our aching burdens, loves and fears
And underneath them wait
Paper and tar and pitch and pine
Called strife and blood and hate.

Out of it all there comes a flame,
A splendid widening light.
Sorrow is turned to mystery
And Death into delight.

Vachel Lindsay’s other poems:

  1. I Heard Immanuel Singing
  2. When Gassy Thompson Struck It Rich
  3. Where Is David, the Next King of Israel?
  4. With a Bouquet of Twelve Roses
  5. The Potatoes’ Dance

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