Travail
The crimson rides the universal wind,
The raven spreads his pinions, follows after,
The eagles, leaden-winged, are left behind:
The old foundations shake from sill to rafter
Deal to the doubters' jeers, the weaklings' means.
The toilers, tired of yielding and false giving
Bend to the mighty task, with solacing groans,
Of making the earth fit for human living.
My ear is tuned unto new voices shrieking
Their jarring notes of life-exalting strife:
My soul soars singing, with flame forces seeking
The grandest purpose, noblest path of life:
Where scarlet pennants blaze like tongues of fire,
There—where high passion swells—is my heart's desire.
--Workers Dreadnought, January 10, 1920. Signed Claude McKay
