Daily Work
Dublin Core
Title
Daily Work
Description
Who lags from dread of daily toil
And his appointed task would shirk,
Reward proportioned to our task;
No dread of toil have we or ours—
We know our worth and weigh our powers;
Enough for competence and health,
And his appointed task would shirk,
Commits a folly and a crime;
A soulless slave,
A paltry knave,
A clog upon the wheels of time.
With work to do, and stores of health,The man's unworthy to be free
Who will not give,
That he may live,
His daily toil for daily fee.
Reward proportioned to our task;
We have no quarrel with the great—
No feud with rank,
With mill or bank—
No envy of a lord's estate
If we can earn sufficient storeTo satisfy our daily need,
And can retain,
For age and pain,
A fraction, we are rich indeed.
No dread of toil have we or ours—
We know our worth and weigh our powers;
The more we work the more we win;
Success to trade!
Success to spade!
And to the corn that's coming in!
And joy to him who o'er his taskRemembers toil is nature's plan—
Who, working, thinks,
And never sinks
His independence as a MAN!
Enough for competence and health,
And leisure when his work is done,
To read his book
By chimney nook,
Or stroll at setting of the sun;
Who toils as every man should toil,For fair reward, erect and free.
These are the men—
The best of men—
These are the men we mean to be.
Creator
Charles Mackay
Source
1:25, p. 1
Date
1.7.1860
Collection
Citation
Charles Mackay, “Daily Work,” Periodical Poets, accessed September 16, 2024, https://periodicalpoets.com/items/show/618.
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