Jack

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



Jack was a swarthy, swaggering son-of-a-gun.
He worked thirty years on the railroad, ten hours a day, and his hands were tougher than sole leather.
He married a tough woman and they had eight children and the woman died and the children grew up and went away and wrote the old man every two years.
He died in the poorhouse sitting on a bench in the sun telling reminiscences to other old men whose women were dead and children scattered.
There was joy on his face when he died as there was joy on his face when he lived—he was a swarthy, swaggering son-of-a-gun.

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Submitted on May 13, 2011

Modified on March 14, 2023

31 sec read
172

Quick analysis:

Scheme ABCDA
Characters 572
Words 106
Stanzas 1
Stanza Lengths 5

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
  • Walter Jackson
    Walter Jackson
    I like Sandburg and especially in this one; I can just see the old men talking, eating and dying wihout family, Quite a good touch of irony I thought as I worked with such people in a run down home in Elko, Nev, 
    LikeReply5 years ago

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"Jack" Poetry.com. STANDS4 LLC, 2024. Web. 28 Mar. 2024. <https://www.poetry.com/poem/4693/jack>.

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