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Under

by Carl Sandburg, 1916

I

i am the undertow
 Washing tides of power
 Battering the pillars
 Under your things of high law.


II

I am a sleepless
 Slowfaring eater,
 Maker of rust and rot
 In your bastioned fastenings,
 Caissons deep.


III

I am the Law
 Older than you
 And your builders proud.

 I am deaf
 In all days
 Whether you
 Say “Yes” or “No”.

 I am the crumbler:
   To-morrow.

Published in Chicago Poems
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