3 Conrad Aiken Quotes on Work

Conrad Aiken quotes on work

15. Our hands are hot and raw with the stones we have laid, We have built a tower of stone high into the sky, We have built a city of towers.

37. More towers must yet be built-more towers destroyed- Great rocks hoisted in air; And he must seek his bread in high pale sunlight With gulls about him, and clouds just over his eyes . . . And so he did not mention his dream of falling But drank his coffee in silence, and heard in his ears That horrible whistle of wind, and felt his breath Sucked out of him, and saw the tower flash by And the small tree swell beneath him . . . He patted his boy on the head, and kissed his wife, Looked quickly around the room, to remember it,- And so went out . . . For once, he forgot his pail.

40. Was forty, then, too old for work like this? Why should it be? He'd never been afraid- His eye was sure, his hand was steady . . . But dreams had meanings.