Asked Myself

I watched them tearing the building down,
a group of men in a busy town.
With a ho heave ho and lusty yell,
they swung a beam and a side wall fell.

I asked the foreman, "Are these men skilled,
the kind I'd hire if I wanted to build?"
He gave a laugh and said no indeed,
why common labor is all I need.

These men can wreck in a day or two
what builders have taken years to do.
I asked myself as I went my way,
which of these roles have I tried to play?

Have I been a builder that works with care,
measuring my deeds by the rule and square?
Or am I a wrecker that stalks the town,
content with the job of tearing it down?

-Author Unknown