I know part of this poem-

Isn't it strange that paupers and kings And clowns that caper in sawdust rings And simple folk like you and me ? ? ? ? ? ? ?

It ends with "a stumbling block or a stepping stone"

Can anyone identify the poem and author?

-- Sally Anne Ellis (sallya@webserve.net), March 05, 1999

Answers

A bag of tools by R. L. Sharpe

Isn't it strange that princes and kings,

And clowns that caper in sawdust rings,

And common people like you and me

Are builders for eternity?

Each is given a bag of tools,

A shapeless mass, a book of rules,

And each must make . . . ere life is flown

A stumbling block, or a stepping stone.

-- ilza (ilza@pobox.com), March 06, 1999.