I see the work of others, and my heart
Sinks as my own achievement I compare.
I will not be irresolute, nor despair,
But battle strongly for my struggling art
Convinced against conviction that my part
Equally with my masters I can bear;
Although their monuments are very fair,
Enriched with statues, and I stand apart
And gaze upon my little heap of stones
Which I was given to build with, very few
As yet laid into place, but I will lay
Blind to these marble monuments and thrones,
Building as though I confidently knew
My ultimate end,, a stone in place each day.