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The Black Riders & Other Lines

  I. Black riders came from the sea.
  II. Three little birds in a row
  III. In the desert
  IV. Yes, I have a thousand tongues
  V. Once there came a man
  VI. God fashioned the ship of the world carefully
  VII. Mystic shadow, bending near me,
  VIII. I looked here
  IX. I stood upon a high place,
  X. Should the wide world roll away,
  XI. In a lonely place,
  XII. "And the sins of the fathers shall be"
  XIII. If there is a witness to my little life,
  XIV. There was a crimson clash of war.
  XV. "Tell brave deeds of war."
  XVI. Charity thou art a lie,
  XVII. There were many who went in huddled
          procession
  XVIII. In heaven
  XIX. A god in wrath
  XX. A learned man came to me once
  XXI. There was, before me
  XXII. Once I saw mountains angry
  XXIII. Places among the stars
  XXIV. I saw a man pursuing the horizon
  XXV. Behold, the grave of a wicked man
  XXVI. There was set before me a mighty hill
  XXVII. A youth in apparel that glittered
  XXVIII. "Truth," said a traveller
  XXIX. Behold, from the land of the farther suns
  XXX. Supposing that I should have the courage
  XXXI. Many workmen
  XXXII. Two or three angels
  XXXIII. There was one I met upon the road
  XXXIV. I stood upon a highway
  XXXV. A man saw a ball of gold in the sky
  XXXVI. I met a seer
  XXXVII. On the horizon the peaks assembled
  XXXVIII. The ocean said to me once
  XXXIX. The livid lightnings flashed in the clouds
  XL. And you love me
  XLI. Love walked alone
  XLII. I walked in a desert
  XLIII. There came whisperings in the winds
  XLIV. I was in the darkness
  XLV. Tradition, thou art for suckling children
  XLVI. Many red devils ran from my heart
  XLVII. "Think as I think," said a man
  XLVIII. Once there was a man
  XLIX. I stood musing in a black world
  L. You say you are holy
  LI. A man went before a strange God
  LII. Why do you strive for greatness, fool?
  LIII. Blustering God
  LIV."It was wrong to do this," said the angel
  LV. A man toiled on a burning road
  LVI. A man feared that he might find an assassin
  LVII.With eye and with gesture
  LVIII. The sage lectured brilliantly
  LIX. Walking in the sky
  LX. Upon the road of my life
  LXI. There was a man and a woman
  LXII. There was a man who lived a life of fire
  LXIII. There was a great cathedral
  LXIV. Friend, your white beard sweeps the ground
  LXV. Once, I knew a fine song
  LXVI. If I should cast off this tattered coat
  LXVII. God lay dead in heaven
  LXVIII. A spirit sped

A man toiled on a burning road
by Stephen Crane
This poem was published in 1895 in the volume The Black Riders & Other Lines.


LV.

A man toiled on a burning road,
Never resting.
Once he saw a fat, stupid ass
Grinning at him from a green place.
The man cried out in rage,
"Ah! Do not deride me, fool!
I know you --
All day stuffing your belly,
Burying your heart
In grass and tender sprouts:
It will not suffice you."
But the ass only grinned at him from the green place.



PD-icon This work published before January 1, 1923 is in the public domain worldwide because the author died at least 100 years ago.
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