ABOUT these roaring cylinders Where leaping words and paper mate, A sudden glory moves and stirs -- An inky cataract in spate! What voice for falsehood or for truth, What hearts attentive to be stirred -- How dimly understood, in sooth, The power of the printed word! These flashing webs and cogs of steel Have shaken empires, routed kings, Yet never turn too fast to feel The tragedies of humble things. O words, be strict in honesty, Be just and simple and serene; O rhymes, sing true, or you will be Unworthy of this great machine! | Discover our Poem Explanations and Poet Analyses!Other Poems of Interest...BUCOLIC COMEDY: THE DOLL by EDITH SITWELL TO A FRIEND by WILLIAM CARLOS WILLIAMS CHILD'S EVENING HYMN by SABINE BARING-GOULD THE JOURNEY by EMILY DICKINSON ODE INSCRIBED TO W.H. CHANNING by RALPH WALDO EMERSON SPOON RIVER ANTHOLOGY: LUCINDA MATLOCK by EDGAR LEE MASTERS |