The Spirit of Transportation

I am the Spirit of Things that Are,
Born of an urgent need,
Of the Force that lies
In a Man's surmise
In a day ere the Age of Speed

I was at hand when the primal herd
Toiled o'er the heavy Sledge,
As they dragged their load
To their cave abode
By the rippling river's edge.

Mine was the thought in that early day,
Stirred for the human weal,
That inspired the sage
In that darkened age
With that vision of Life—the Wheel.

Then came the horse as the slave of man,
Carriage and coach and four,
And the years flashed by
And the time was nigh,
To reveal What the future bore.

Then came the quickening urge of Trade,

Commerce must travel fir, And my wings I gave To this earth-born slave With the joys of the motor car. </poem>

I am the Spirit of Things that Are,

Born of an urgent need, Of the Force that lies In a Man's surmise In a day ere the Age of Speed. </poem>