Get Your Premium Membership

PORTRAIT OF A MACHINE

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.

Poem by Louis Untermeyer
Biography | Poems | Best Poems | Short Poems | Quotes | Email Poem - PORTRAIT OF A MACHINEEmail Poem | Create an image from this poem

Poems are below...



Summaries, Analysis, and Information on "PORTRAIT OF A MACHINE"

Sorry, no articles found.

More Information

More Poems by Louis Untermeyer


Book: Reflection on the Important Things