'She's built of steel <br />From deck to keel, <br />And bolted strong and tight; <br />In scorn she'll sail <br />The fiercest gale, <br />And pierce the darkest night. <br /> <br />'The builder's art <br />Has proved each part <br />Throughout her breadth and length; <br />Deep in the hulk, <br />Of her mighty bulk, <br />Ten thousand Titans' strength.' <br /> <br />The tempest howls, <br />The Ice Wolf prowls, <br />The winds they shift and veer, <br />But calm I sleep, <br />And faith I keep <br />In the word of an engineer. <br /> <br />Along the trail <br />Of the slender rail <br />The train, like a nightmare, flies <br />And dashes on <br />Through the black-mouthed yawn <br />Where the cavernous tunnel lies. <br /> <br /> <br />Over the ridge, <br />Across the bridge, <br />Swung twixt the sky and hell, <br />On an iron thread <br />Spun from the head <br />Of the man in a draughtsman's cell. <br /> <br />And so we ride <br />Over land and tide, <br />Without a thought of fear— <br /> <br />Man never had <br />The faith in God <br />That he has in an engineer!<br /><br />James Weldon Johnson<br /><br />http://www.poemhunter.com/poem/the-word-of-an-engineer/
