 | The select poems of Dr. Thomas Dunn English (exclusive of the "Battle lyrics") |  |
THE RAILWAY RIDE.
In their yachts on ocean gliding,
On their steeds Arabian riding,
Whirled o'er snows on tinkling sledges,
Men forget their woe and pain;
What the pleasure then should fill them—
What the ecstasy should thrill them—
Borne with ponderous speed, and thunderous,
O'er the narrow iron plain.
On their steeds Arabian riding,
Whirled o'er snows on tinkling sledges,
Men forget their woe and pain;
What the pleasure then should fill them—
What the ecstasy should thrill them—
Borne with ponderous speed, and thunderous,
O'er the narrow iron plain.
558
Restless as a dream of vengeance,
Mark you there the iron engines
Blowing steam from snorting nostrils,
Moving each upon its track;
Sighing, panting, anxious, eager,
Not with purpose mean or meagre,
But intense intent for motion,
For the liberty they lack.
Mark you there the iron engines
Blowing steam from snorting nostrils,
Moving each upon its track;
Sighing, panting, anxious, eager,
Not with purpose mean or meagre,
But intense intent for motion,
For the liberty they lack.
Now one screams in triumph, for the
Engine-driver, grimed and swarthy,
Lays his hand upon the lever,
And the steed is loose once more;
Off it moves, and fast and faster,
With no urging from the master,
Till the awed earth shakes in terror
At the rumbling and the roar.
Engine-driver, grimed and swarthy,
Lays his hand upon the lever,
And the steed is loose once more;
Off it moves, and fast and faster,
With no urging from the master,
Till the awed earth shakes in terror
At the rumbling and the roar.
Crossing long and thread-like bridges,
Spanning streams and cleaving ridges,
Sweeping over broad green meadows,
That in starless darkness lay,
How the engine rocks and clatters!
Showers of fire around it scatters,
While its blazing eye outpeering
Looks for perils in the way.
Spanning streams and cleaving ridges,
Sweeping over broad green meadows,
That in starless darkness lay,
How the engine rocks and clatters!
Showers of fire around it scatters,
While its blazing eye outpeering
Looks for perils in the way.
To yon tunnel-drift careering,
In its brown mouth disappearing,
Passed from sight and passed from hearing,
Silence follows like a spell;
Then a sudden sound-burst surges,
As the train from earth emerges
With a scream of exultation,
With a wild and joyous yell.
In its brown mouth disappearing,
Passed from sight and passed from hearing,
Silence follows like a spell;
Then a sudden sound-burst surges,
As the train from earth emerges
With a scream of exultation,
With a wild and joyous yell.
559
What the chariot swift of Ares
Which a god to battle carries?
What the steeds the rash boy handled
Harnessed to the sun-god's wain?
Those are mystic, this is real;
Born not of the past ideal,
But of craft and strength and purpose,
Love of speed and thirst of gain.
Which a god to battle carries?
What the steeds the rash boy handled
Harnessed to the sun-god's wain?
Those are mystic, this is real;
Born not of the past ideal,
But of craft and strength and purpose,
Love of speed and thirst of gain.
Oh, what wildness! oh, what gladness!
Oh, what joy akin to madness!
Oh, what reckless feeling raises
Us to-day beyond the stars!
What to us all human ant-hills,
Fame fools sigh for, land that man tills,
In the swinging and the clattering
And the rattling of the cars?
Oh, what joy akin to madness!
Oh, what reckless feeling raises
Us to-day beyond the stars!
What to us all human ant-hills,
Fame fools sigh for, land that man tills,
In the swinging and the clattering
And the rattling of the cars?
| The select poems of Dr. Thomas Dunn English (exclusive of the "Battle lyrics") | |