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Classic and Contemporary Poetry
THE WOODMAN, by BELLE RICHARDSON HARRISON Poet's Biography
First Line: The woodman in clearing the forest
Last Line: Hewing our way to the light.
Subject(s): Forests; Labor & Laborers; Woods; Work; Workers
First Line: The woodman in clearing the forest
Last Line: Hewing our way to the light.
Subject(s): Forests; Labor & Laborers; Woods; Work; Workers
THE woodman in clearing the forest
Labors with patience and skill;
Swinging the axe with his brawny arms,
And strength of a dauntless will.
No towering tree in the woodland
Is felled by a single blow—
By countless strokes it totters and falls
To the sounding earth below.
The axe and the wedge and heavy maul
Are plied by a master hand,
Till out of the gloom and the shadow
Emerges the new cleared land.
The world is a forest before us—
We hew our way to the light,
With the axe and wedge of power and skill
Fearlessly wielded aright.
Obstructions barring our progress
By repeated blows are felled,
Till the sunlight smiles in approval,
The darkness and gloom dispelled.
We must ne'er look back to the starting,
Nor swerve to the left or right,
But work with resolute arm and will,
Hewing our way to the light.
Discover our Poem Explanations and Poet Analyses!
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