Men's Work

Men’s Work


by Robert Bly

This morning I’ve been thinking
How much I love the way some men
Keep working with their bills.
You’ve been alone in the woods,
heard that knocking sound
Far off. It’s one of them.


If you’re going to follow your beak
Back to childhood, then the food
you’re looking for
Will be far beneath the bark.
The beak is so close to the brain
that some men will want to
Call the whole thing off


Men who work like this sometimes
live in acres of scrub trees.
I like that cheerful sound.

"Not many people here."

"Woodpecker Friend,
call me or I’ll call you.
How’s that wood?"

"Hard but wormy."



Robert Bly

Posted over on MenWeb

This poem was first published in M.E.N. Magazine