Classic Poem

A carpenter, he worked with wood—
—The fragrant wood and pale:
He planed the broad and feathery coils
—And drove the drastic nail.

And from the cedar and the oak—
—The texture of the tree—
He built the House of Time before
—That of Eternity.

How strange to choose a carpenter
—And bind him and impale
Upon the wood he used to work—
—With the beloved nail!

A carpenter, he worked with wood—
The fragrant wood and pale:
He planed the broad and feathery coils
And drove the drastic nail.

And from the cedar and the oak—
The texture of the tree—
He built the House of Time before
That of Eternity.

How strange to choose a carpenter
And bind him and impale
Upon the wood he used to work—
With the beloved nail!