Tommy Geff

The King

...

"Good-bye, Romance!" the Skipper said;

"He vanished with the coal we burn.

Our dial marks full-steam ahead,

Our speed is timed to half a turn.

Sure as the ferried barge we ply

'Twixt port and port. Romance, good-bye!"

"Romance!" the season-tickets mourn,

"He never ran to catch His train,

But passed with coach and guard and horn --

And left the local -- late again!"

Confound Romance!... And all unseen

Romance brought up the nine-fifteen.

His hand was on the lever laid,

His oil-can soothed the worrying cranks,

His whistle waked the snowbound grade,

His fog-horn cut the reeking Banks;

By dock and deep and mine and mill

The Boy-god reckless laboured still!

Robed, crowned and throned, He wove His spell,

Where heart-blood beat or hearth-smoke curled,

With unconsidered miracle,

Hedged in a backward-gazing world;

Then taught His chosen bard to say:

"Our King was with us -- yesterday!"