Portrait of a Machine
From Off the Road Database
| Author | Untermeyer, Louis |
|---|---|
| Genre | Poetry |
| Journal or Book | American Poetry |
| Publisher | Hartcourt, Brace and Company |
| Year of Publication | 1922 |
| Pages | 114 |
| Additional information | - |
What nudity is beautiful as this
Obedient monster purring at its toil;
These naked iron muscles dripping oil
And the sure-fingered rods that never miss.
This long and shining flank of metal is
Magic that greasy labor cannot spoil;
While this vast engine that could rend the soil
Conceals its fury with a gentle hiss.
It does not vent its loathing, does not turn
Upon its makers with destroying hate.
It bears a deeper malice; lives to earn
Its master's bread and laughs to see this great
Lord of the earth, who rules but cannot learn,
Become the slave of what his slaves create.
