Mill-Doors

Carl Sandburg

1878 to 1967

Poem Image
Track 1

Reconstruct the poem by dragging each line into its correct position. Your goal is to reassemble the original poem as accurately as possible. As you move the lines, you'll see whether your arrangement is correct, helping you explore the poem's flow and meaning. You can also print out the jumbled poem to cut up and reassemble in the classroom. Either way, take your time, enjoy the process, and discover how the poet's words come together to create something truly beautiful.

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And take you then for— how many cents a day? 
The hopeless open doors that call and wait 
You never come back
I say good-by when I see you going in the doors. 
I say good-by because I know they tap your wrists. 
You never come back 
In the dark, in the silence, day by day. 
And all the blood of you drop by drop, 
And you are old before you are young 
How many cents for the sleepy eyes and fingers?