UNDERTAKERS, hearse drivers, grave diggers,
I speak to you as one not afraid of your business.

You handle dust going to a long country,
You know the secret behind your job is the same whether
you lower the coffin with modern, automatic machinery,
well-oiled and noiseless, or whether the
body is laid in by naked hands and then covered
by the shovels.

Your day's work is done with laughter many days of the year,
And you earn a living by those who say good-by today
in thin whispers.

Added: Feb 4 2004 | Viewed: 2700 times | Comments (0)

Poet: Carl Sandburg (Carl Sandburg Art)
Poem: 33. To Certain Journeymen
Volume: Chicago Poems
- Chicago Poems
Year: Published/Written in 1912
Poem of the Day: Dec 3 2003
There are no comments for this poem. Why not be the first one to post something about it?

Are you looking for more information on this poem? Perhaps you are trying to analyze it? The poem, To Certain Journeymen, has not yet been commented on. You can click here to be the first to post a comment about it. Of course you can also always discuss poems by Carl Sandburg with others on the American Poems poetry forum!