English poem
The Rock-Breaker
by Edwin Markham (1852–1940)
Pausing he leans upon his sledge, and looks— A labor-blasted toiler; So have I seen, on Shasta’s top, a pine Stand silent on a cliff, Stript of its glory of green leaves and boughs, Its great trunk split by fire, Its gray bark blackened by the thunder-smoke, Its life a sacrifice To some blind purpose of the destinies.