Government
The Government—I heard about the Government and I went out to find it. I said I would look closely at it when I saw it.Then I saw a policeman dragging a drunken man to the callaboose. It was the Government in action.I saw a ward alderman slip into an office one morning and talk with a judge. Later in the day the judge dismissed a case against a pickpocket who was a live ward worker for the alderman. Again I saw this was the Government, doing things.I saw militiamen level their rifles at a crowd of workingmen who were trying to get other workingmen to stay away from a shop where there was a strike on. Government in action.
Everywhere I saw that Government is a thing made of men, that Government has blood and bones, it is many mouths whispering into many ears, sending telegrams, aiming rifles, writing orders, saying “yes” and “no.”
Government dies as the men who form it die and are laid away in their graves and the new Government that comes after is human, made of heartbeats of blood, ambitions, lusts, and money running through it all, money paid and money taken, and money covered up and spoken of with hushed voices.A Government is just as secret and mysterious and sensitive as any human sinner carrying a load of germs, traditions and corpuscles handed down from fathers and mothers away back.
Words in this poem
- went n.
- Course; way; path; journey; direction.
- alderman n.
- A senior or superior; a person of rank or dignity. [AS. aldormon, ealdorman; ealdor an elder + man. See Elder, n.]
- pickpocket n.
- One who steals purses or other articles from pockets. Bentley.
- sinner n.
- One who has sinned; especially, one who has sinned without repenting; hence, a persistent and incorrigible transgressor; one condemned by the law of God.
Definitions and etymologies from Webster's Unabridged Dictionary, 1913.
About this text
Government is in the public domain. This text is taken from Chicago Poems, Wikisource; the transcription's header, footer and licence were removed and nothing else was changed. You may copy, print and reuse it freely.
Cite as: Carl Sandburg, Government, in Chicago Poems (1916), text of Wikisource, Laurel, https://laurelpoetry.com/poem/sandburg-chicago-poems/government.html, id L28987.
Form and metre
Government is 7 lines in 3 stanzas.
Measured by Laurel's pipeline, not copied from a handbook: how stress and metre are counted, how rhyme is lettered, how a drifted rhyme is found. Where the dictionary cannot confirm a rhyme the letter is withheld, not guessed.
Rhyme words, stanza by stanza
The word that ends each line, lettered by the rhyme it makes; a dash is a line whose rhyme the dictionary could not confirm.
- 1 -A-A it · actionA · things · actionA
Scansion, line by line
Each line with its syllable count and the stresses the words themselves fix: / stressed, ˘ unstressed, · a syllable the word leaves free and the metre decides. How this is done.
| Line | Syl. | Stress |
|---|---|---|
| The Government—I heard about the Government and I went out to find it. I said I would look closely at it when I saw it. | 32 | ·/˘˘·····/˘˘············/˘······ |
| Then I saw a policeman dragging a drunken man to the callaboose. It was the Government in action. | 27 | ····˘/˘/˘·/˘·········/˘˘·/˘ |
| I saw a ward alderman slip into an office one morning and talk with a judge. Later in the day the judge dismissed a case against a pickpocket who was a live ward worker for the alderman. Again I saw this was the Government, doing things. | 63 | ····/˘˘····/˘·/˘·····/˘·····˘/·····/·˘·····/˘··/˘˘˘/·····/˘˘/˘· |
| I saw militiamen level their rifles at a crowd of workingmen who were trying to get other workingmen to stay away from a shop where there was a strike on. Government in action. | 48 | ··˘/˘˘/˘·/˘·········/˘··/˘·····˘/·········/˘˘·/˘ |
| Everywhere I saw that Government is a thing made of men, that Government has blood and bones, it is many mouths whispering into many ears, sending telegrams, aiming rifles, writing orders, saying “yes” and “no.” | 54 | /˘····/˘˘·······/˘˘······/˘·/˘˘··/˘·/˘/˘·/˘/˘/˘/˘/˘··· |
| Government dies as the men who form it die and are laid away in their graves and the new Government that comes after is human, made of heartbeats of blood, ambitions, lusts, and money running through it all, money paid and money taken, and money covered up and spoken of with hushed voices. | 72 | /˘˘···········˘/······/˘˘·····/˘··/···˘/˘··/˘/˘···/˘··/˘/˘·/˘/˘··/˘···/˘ |
| A Government is just as secret and mysterious and sensitive as any human sinner carrying a load of germs, traditions and corpuscles handed down from fathers and mothers away back. | 50 | ·/˘˘···/˘·˘/˘˘·/˘˘·/˘/˘/˘/˘˘····˘/˘···/˘··/˘·/˘˘/· |
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