Classic and Contemporary Poetry: Explained

John Frederick Nims' "The Caveman on the Train" is a meditation on human progress, framed within the evolution of transportation, particularly the railway. It begins with a prehistoric moment of ingenuity and ends with the relentless acceleration of modernity, all while maintaining an ironic awareness of how civilization has remained tethered to its primal instincts. The poem’s language is dynamic, rich with historical allusions and infused with a tone that blends admiration with a subtle critique of industrial advancement.

The opening lines place the reader at a pivotal moment in human history—when early humans first learned to manipulate tools: clinking flint on flint and snatched with a grin what fell in craftier shapes. The phrasing suggests not only discovery but an innate cunning, a recognition that intelligence and adaptability would be humanity’s greatest survival mechanisms. The law was move or die, a stark articulation of evolutionary necessity. This law, the poem implies, governs not just physical survival but technological innovation, where necessity forces the leap from rudimentary mobility to more sophisticated forms of travel.

The second stanza contemplates a primal version of mechanical thought. The image of a caveman rubbing a bruised hip in contemplation—brow darkening why?—suggests the moment of frustration and inspiration that precedes invention. The wheel emerges almost as a revelation, sparked by the observation of natural rotations, such example in a heaven revving immaculate gears. The celestial imagery elevates the wheel to an almost divine phenomenon, aligning human ingenuity with cosmic order. The turn of phrase put any wheel to earth, and two wheels meet conveys both inevitability and momentum, emphasizing the chain reaction of technological progress.

The third stanza expands on this history, moving from ancient Greece and Rome to more recent developments. Athens cut ruts of marble recalls early road systems, while Apollo’s car of talkative gold references mythological and artistic depictions of chariots as symbols of power and movement. The phrase the horsepower: horse marks a wry transition from literal horsepower to its metaphorical, mechanical successor. The railroads that would later dominate the landscape are described through a series of innovations—sawtooth rail or crank-and-cable—culminating in iron tracks that conquered mountains.

The poem’s fourth stanza revels in the names and romance of locomotives, treating them as personalities rather than mere machines. The Wabash Cannonball, a legendary American train, is mentioned alongside Puffing Billy and Sans Pareil, some of the earliest steam engines. These trains defy time and testy weather, casting engineers and brakemen as mythic figures, battling against the elements. The phrase by stoves where sand is baking crisp evokes the camaraderie of railroad workers, a fireside folklore of perseverance and adventure.

The final two stanzas shift from past to present, contrasting the sky-hankering men of history—those who dreamed of impossible inventions—with the current reality of high-speed transit. The reverence for innovation lingers in the anecdote of George Stephenson, the father of the modern railway, snatching fire for Locomotion No. 1 as if performing an act of Promethean defiance. Yet, the irony deepens in the closing lines: where once ten miles an hour was considered immoderate, today the command is to slow down to ninety. The phrasing is almost comical, highlighting how speed, once a marvel, has become a hazard.

The final assertion—He will go far, the caveman, this-a-way—suggests both inevitability and ambivalence. The grand indifference to the red and green hints at a reckless disregard for caution, a metaphor that aligns technological progress with a headlong rush toward unknown consequences. While the poem celebrates human ingenuity, it also questions where this unchecked momentum leads. The caveman, once scrambling to survive, now speeds forward without heed to the signals that might suggest when to stop.

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