To A Locomotive In Winter Analysis

THEE for my recitative!

Thee in the driving storm, even as now--the snow--the winter-day

declining;

Thee in thy panoply, thy measured dual throbbing, and thy beat

convulsive;

Thy black cylindric body, golden brass, and silvery steel;

Thy ponderous side-bars, parallel and connecting rods, gyrating,

shuttling at thy sides;

Thy metrical, now swelling pant and roar--now tapering in the

distance;

Thy great protruding head-light, fix'd in front;

Thy long, pale, floating vapor-pennants, tinged with delicate purple;

The dense and murky clouds out-belching from thy smoke-stack;

Thy knitted frame--thy springs and valves--the tremulous twinkle of

thy wheels;10

Thy train of cars behind, obedient, merrily-following,

Through gale or calm, now swift, now slack, yet steadily careering:

Type of the modern! emblem of motion and power! pulse of the

continent!

For once, come serve the Muse, and merge in verse, even as here I see

thee,

With storm, and buffeting gusts of wind, and falling snow;

By day, thy warning, ringing bell to sound its notes,

By night, thy silent signal lamps to swing.



Fierce-throated beauty!

Roll through my chant, with all thy lawless music! thy swinging lamps

at night;

Thy piercing, madly-whistled laughter! thy echoes, rumbling like an

earthquake, rousing all!20

Law of thyself complete, thine own track firmly holding;

(No sweetness debonair of tearful harp or glib piano thine,)

Thy trills of shrieks by rocks and hills return'd,

Launch'd o'er the prairies wide--across the lakes,

To the free skies, unpent, and glad, and strong.

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