Question

Read the poem and answer the given question:

Not gold, but only men can make
A people great and strong;
Men who, for truth and honor’s sake
Stand fast and suffer long
Brave men who work while others sleep,
Who dare while others fly…
They build a nation’s pillars deep,
And lift them to the sky.

Now explain the line; “They build a nation’s pillars deep.”

Answer 1

Hint: Poems are not meant to be understood after reading once. There are various rhyme schemes and other elements included while constructing a poem that is the beauty in poetry. The only way we can explain any line is if we understand the idea behind each stanza. This line in short describes the people who are responsible for making the city and it means that they are very dedicated to their job. They put sincere and hard effort into everything and are making all aspects of life better for the people of that city.

Complete answer:
Read all the lines of the poem carefully to understand the idea behind the stanzas.
The men who are constructing the city are referred to in the line "they build a nation's pillars deep."
These men are erecting the nation's foundations, which include not only buildings and bridges, but also the nation's administration and other services necessary to keep the country strong. They include the nation's military, the government that rules the land, and the men who practice medicine and care for the sick and injured. Apart from these occupations, all those men who dedicate their hearts and souls to the nation's well being form the nation's foundations or are the nation’s pillars.

Note: Among these lines we can explain a few other things like;
(i) How the pillars of this nation are being built ‘deep’; this implies that they are working really hard to satisfy the needs of everyone. They here mean the citizens and they are also undergoing a great deal of suffering and ordeal to get this done.
(ii) Why is it said that the pillars of the nation are lifted to the ‘sky’; this is said so as the people of the city are working extremely hard to achieve their ambitions and so the nation’s pride is lifted and the country is happy for them and proud of them.