Grass

Carl Sandburg 1878 (Galesburg) – 1967 (Flat Rock)



Pile the bodies high at Austerlitz and Waterloo.
Shovel them under and let me work.
I am the grass.
I cover all.

And pile them high at Gettysburg.
And pile them high at Ypres and Verdun.
Shovel them under and let me work.

Two years, ten years,
and passengers ask the conductor:
What place is this?
Where are we now?

I am the grass.
Let me work.
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Submitted on May 13, 2011

Modified by tapani_s on April 26, 2021

20 sec read
795

Quick analysis:

Scheme xABx xxA xxxx Ba
Closest metre Iambic trimeter
Characters 332
Words 67
Stanzas 4
Stanza Lengths 4, 3, 4, 2

Carl Sandburg

Carl Sandburg was an American writer and editor best known for poetry. more…

All Carl Sandburg poems | Carl Sandburg Books

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1 Comment
  • tapani_s
    This is only my translation to Finnish. The original marvellous poem is Carl Sandburg s Grass.
    Tapani Sipilä, Finland
    LikeReply2 years ago

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"Grass" Poetry.com. STANDS4 LLC, 2024. Web. 19 Apr. 2024. <https://www.poetry.com/poem/4672/grass>.

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