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Carl Sandburg (6 January 1878 – 22 July 1967 / Illinois)
Poems by Carl Sandburg : 86 / 231
Grass
Pile the bodies high at Austerlitz and Waterloo.
Shovel them under and let me work--
I am the grass; I cover all.
And pile them high at Gettysburg
And pile them high at Ypres and Verdun.
Shovel them under and let me work.
Two years, ten years, and the passengers ask the conductor:
What place is this?
Where are we now?
I am the grass.
Let me work.
Carl Sandburg
Submitted: Friday, January 03, 2003
Read poems about / on: work
Poems by Carl Sandburg : 86 / 231
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It is a great poem but now I came back from OEF, one of those faceless names at Arlington was my friend. Before he was killed by an IED we laughed, shared jokes, talked about the future, he even gave me advice about my son. The grass does take over but some still remember. Gettysburg and Ypres are long ago but my friend was not and he was a real person with friends and family. I guess he was just like like those guys at Gettysburg and Ypres. I miss him but he was real and he was my friend.
The horrific deeds or war, destruction of men, incomprehensible evils, all seem eradicated by nature's gentle work. Grass covers all, in time, but should the devastation be forgotten?
One of Sandburg's best.
Last two lines are priceless.