Carl Sandburg (1878–1967). Smoke and Steel. 1922.
III. Broken-Face Gargoyles5. Shirt
M
more than a cover for sun and rain,
my shirt is a signal,
and a teller of souls.
and so make a ripping razzly noise,
and the people will say,
“Look at him tear his shirt.”
I can stick around and sing like a little bird
and look’em all in the eye and never be fazed.
I can keep my shirt on.