39. Prayers of Steel. Sandburg, Carl. 1918. Cornhuskers

Carl Sandburg (1878–1967). Cornhuskers. 1918.

39. Prayers of Steel


LAY me on an anvil, O God.
Beat me and hammer me into a crowbar.
Let me pry loose old walls.
Let me lift and loosen old foundations.

Lay me on an anvil, O God.	5
Beat me and hammer me into a steel spike.
Drive me into the girders that hold a skyscraper together.
Take red-hot rivets and fasten me into the central girders.
Let me be the great nail holding a skyscraper through blue nights into white stars.