LABOR DAY

I HEAR AMERICA SINGING

I hear America singing, the varied carols I hear,

Those of mechanics, each one singing his as it should be

blithe and strong,

The carpenter singing his as he measures his plank or

beam,

The mason singing his as he makes ready for work, or

leaves off work,

The boatman singing what belongs to him in his boat, the

deckhand singing on the steamboat deck,

The shoemaker singing as he sits on his bench, the hatter

singing as he stands

The woodcutter's song, the ploughboy's on his way in the

morning, or at noon intermission or at sundown,

The delicious singing of the mother, or of the young wife

at work, or of the girl sewing or washing,

Each singing what belongs to him or her and to none else,

The day what belongs to the day-at night the party of 

young fellows, robust, friendly, 

Singing with open mouths their strong melodious songs.

Walt Whitman