Henry Wadsworth Longfellow (1807–1882). Complete Poetical Works. 1893.
The Seaside and the FiresideBy the Fireside. The Builders
A
Working in these walls of Time;
Some with massive deeds and great,
Some with ornaments of rhyme.
Each thing in its place is best;
And what seems but idle show
Strengthens and supports the rest.
Time is with materials filled;
Our to-days and yesterdays
Are the blocks with which we build.
Leave no yawning gaps between;
Think not, because no man sees,
Such things will remain unseen.
Builders wrought with greatest care
Each minute and unseen part;
For the Gods see everywhere.
Both the unseen and the seen;
Make the house, where Gods may dwell,
Beautiful, entire, and clean.
Standing in these walls of Time,
Broken stairways, where the feet
Stumble as they seek to climb.
With a firm and ample base;
And ascending and secure
Shall to-morrow find its place.
To those turrets, where the eye
Sees the world as one vast plain,
And one boundless reach of sky.