On Builders And Labour

I saw them tearing a building down,
A gang of men in a busy town;
With a ho-heave-ho and a lusty yell,
They swung a beam and a sidewall fell.
I asked the foreman, “Are these men skilled
As the men you would hire if you had to build?”
He laughed and said, “No indeed!
Just common labor is all I need.
I can easily wreck in a day or two
What builders have taken a year to do.”

I asked myself as I went my way,
Which of these roles have I tried to play?
Am I a builder who works with care
Measuring life with the rule and square,
Or am I a wrecker who walks the town,
Content with the labor of tearing down.