I SAW THEM TEARING A BUILDING DOWN

I saw them tearing a building down –
A crew of folks in my home town.
With a heave and a ho and a yes, yes yell
They swung a beam and a side wall fell.

I said to the foreman, ‘Are these people as skilled as the ones you’d use if you had to build?”
He laughed and said, “Aw, naw, indeed, common labour is all I need, for I can destroy in a day or two what it took a builder ten years to do.”

And I said to myself as I went on my way again
“which of these roles am I willing to play?
Am I the one who’s tearing down
As I carelessly make my way around?
Or am I one who is building with care
So my job, community, state and country
Will be a little bit better just because I was there?