Word of an Engineer

<SPAN name="startofbook"></SPAN> <h2><SPAN name="THE_WORD_OF_AN_ENGINEER" id="THE_WORD_OF_AN_ENGINEER"></SPAN>THE WORD OF AN ENGINEER</h2> <div class="poem"><div class="stanza"> <span class="i0">"She's built of steel<br/></span> <span class="i0">From deck to keel,<br/></span> <span class="i0">And bolted strong and tight;<br/></span> <span class="i0">In scorn she'll sail<br/></span> <span class="i0">The fiercest gale,<br/></span> <span class="i0">And pierce the darkest night.<br/></span></div> <div class="stanza"> <span class="i0">"The builder's art<br/></span> <span class="i0">Has proved each part<br/></span> <span class="i0">Throughout her breadth and length;<br/></span> <span class="i0">Deep in the hulk,<br/></span> <span class="i0">Of her mighty bulk,<br/></span> <span class="i0">Ten thousand Titans' strength."<br/></span></div> <div class="stanza"> <span class="i0">The tempest howls,<br/></span> <span class="i0">The Ice Wolf prowls,<br/></span> <span class="i0">The winds they shift and veer,<br/></span> <span class="i0">But calm I sleep,<br/></span> <span class="i0">And faith I keep<br/></span> <span class="i0">In the word of an engineer.<br/></span></div> <div class="stanza"> <span class="i0">Along the trail<br/></span> <span class="i0">Of the slender rail<br/></span> <span class="i0">The train, like a nightmare, flies<br/></span> <span class="i0">And dashes on<br/></span> <span class="i0">Through the black-mouthed yawn<br/></span> <span class="i0">Where the cavernous tunnel lies.<br/></span> <span class='pagenum'><SPAN name="Page_49" id="Page_49">[49]</SPAN></span></div> <div class="stanza"> <span class="i0">Over the ridge,<br/></span> <span class="i0">Across the bridge,<br/></span> <span class="i0">Swung twixt the sky and hell,<br/></span> <span class="i0">On an iron thread<br/></span> <span class="i0">Spun from the head<br/></span> <span class="i0">Of the man in a draughtsman's cell.<br/></span></div> <div class="stanza"> <span class="i0">And so we ride<br/></span> <span class="i0">Over land and tide,<br/></span> <span class="i0">Without a thought of fear&mdash;<br/></span> <span class="i0"><i>Man never had</i><br/></span> <span class="i0"><i>The faith in God</i><br/></span> <span class="i0"><i>That he has in an engineer!</i><br/></span></div> </div> <div style="break-after:column;"></div><br />