Fifty Years & Other Poems/The Word of an Engineer
The Word of an Engineer
"She's built of steelFrom deck to keel,And bolted strong and tight;In scorn she'll sailThe fiercest gale,And pierce the darkest night.
"The builder's artHas proved each partThroughout her breadth and length;Deep in the hulk,Of her mighty bulk,Ten thousand Titans' strength."
The tempest howls,The Ice Wolf prowls,The winds they shift and veer,But calm I sleep,And faith I keepIn the word of an engineer.
Along the trailOf the slender railThe train, like a nightmare, fliesAnd dashes onThrough the black-mouthed yawnWhere the cavernous tunnel lies.
Over the ridge,Across the bridge,Swung twixt the sky and hell,On an iron threadSpun from the headOf the man in a draughtsman's cell.
And so we rideOver land and tide,Without a thought of fear—Man never hadThe faith in GodThat he has in an engineer!