1. People Who Must. II. People Who Must. Sandburg, Carl. 1920. Smoke and Steel

Carl Sandburg (1878–1967). Smoke and Steel. 1922.

II. People Who Must

1. People Who Must

I PAINTED on the roof of a skyscraper.
I painted a long while and called it a day’s work.
The people on a corner swarmed and the traffic cop’s whistle never let up all afternoon.
They were the same as bugs, many bugs on their way—
Those people on the go or at a standstill;	5
And the traffic cop a spot of blue, a splinter of brass,
Where the black tides ran around him
And he kept the street. I painted a long while
And called it a day’s work.