The steel worker on the girder
Learned not to look down, and does his work
And there are words we have learned
Not to look at,
Not to look for substance
Below them. But we are on the verge
Of vertigo.


"The Building of the Skyscraper" st. 1, 1965; Collected Poems of George Oppen", New Directions, 1976, ISBN 0-811-20615-7

George Oppen Quotes

The steel worker on the girder Learned not to look down, and does his work And there are words we have learned Not to look at, Not to look for...

The steel worker on the girder Learned not to look down, and does his work And there are words we have learned Not to look at, Not to look for...

The steel worker on the girder Learned not to look down, and does his work And there are words we have learned Not to look at, Not to look for...

The steel worker on the girder Learned not to look down, and does his work And there are words we have learned Not to look at, Not to look for...