| Harriet Monroe, ed. (1860–1936). Poetry: A Magazine of Verse. 1912–22. | | | | The Shop | | By Marjorie Allen Seiffert |
| | From “Gallery of Paintings”
THE SHOP is red and crimson. Under the forge | |
| Men hold red bars of iron with black iron tongs. | |
| It crashes—sparks spatter out; it crashes again, again. | |
| At last the iron is bent as it belongs. | |
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| Swedes, Norwegians, Poles or Greeks—they are men: | 5 |
| They grin when they please, look ugly when they please; | |
| They wear black oakum in their ears for the noise; | |
| They know their job, handle their tools with ease. | |
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| Their eyes are clean and white in their black faces; | |
| If they like, they are surly, can speak an ugly no; | 10 |
| They laugh great blocks of mirth, their jokes are simple; | |
| They know where they stand, which way they go. | |
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| If I wore overalls, lost my disguise | |
| Of womanhood and youth, they would call me friend; | |
| They would see I am one of them, and we could talk | 15 |
| And laugh together, and smoke at the day’s end. | | | | |
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