fracture

you come at last to the resistant rock
hour after hour you've pushed down through soil
not knowing how to measure all your toil
nor counting time only by sweat and clock
until you hear the one confirming knock
and through your body sense the hard recoil
no time to let the motion spin or spoil
the value's in the fact more than the shock
you gild the rose and there is no more scent
but duty means that under all the pain
you have to tell the truth and not to shirk
the task on which your whole purpose was bent
and so you lie and say there was no strain
and claim as easy that which was hard work