I watched them tearing a building down…
A gang of men in a busy town,
With ho-heave and lusty yell.
They swung a beam and a side wall fell;
I asked the foreman, “Are these men skilled
And the men you’d hire if you had to build?”
He gave a laugh and said, “No, indeed!
Just common labor is all I need;
I can easily wreck in a day or two
What builders have taken a year to do!”
And I thought to myself as I went away
“Which of these roles have I tried to play?”
Am I a Builder who works with care,
Measuring life by the rule and square?
Am I shaping my deed to well made plan,
Patiently doing the best I can?
Or am I a Wrecker, who walks the town,
Content with the labor of tearing it down?
-Mr. Anonymous

Tags: builder, demolition, encouragement, wrecker