The Word of an Engineer
"She's built of steelFrom deck to keel,And bolted strong and tight;In scorn she'll sailThe fiercest gale,And pierce the darkest night.
"The builder's artHas proved each partThroughout her breadth and length;Deep in the hulk,Of her mighty bulk,Ten thousand Titans' strength."
The tempest howls,The Ice Wolf prowls,The winds they shift and veer,But calm I sleep,And faith I keepIn the word of an engineer.
Along the trailOf the slender railThe train, like a nightmare, fliesAnd dashes onThrough the black-mouthed yawnWhere the cavernous tunnel lies.
Over the ridge,Across the bridge,Swung twixt the sky and hell,On an iron threadSpun from the headOf the man in a draughtsman's cell.
And so we rideOver land and tide,Without a thought of fear--Man never hadThe faith in GodThat he has in an engineer!
Words in this poem
- hulk n.
- The body of a ship or decked vessel of any kind; esp., the body of an old vessel laid by as unfit for service. [OE. hulke a heavy ship, AS. hulc a light, swift ship; akin to D. hulk a ship of burden, G. holk, OHG. holcho; perh. fr. LL. holcas, Gr. Wolf, Holcad.]
- cavernous a.
- Full of caverns; resembling a cavern or large cavity; hollow. [L. cavernosus: cf. F. caverneux.]
Definitions and etymologies from Webster's Unabridged Dictionary, 1913.
About this text
The Word of an Engineer is in the public domain. This text is taken from Fifty Years, & Other Poems, Project Gutenberg ebook #17884; the transcription's header, footer and licence were removed and nothing else was changed. You may copy, print and reuse it freely.
Cite as: James Weldon Johnson, The Word of an Engineer, in Fifty Years and Other Poems (1917), text of Project Gutenberg ebook #17884, Laurel, https://laurelpoetry.com/poem/johnson-fifty-years/the-word-of-an-engineer.html, id L08322.
Form and metre
The Word of an Engineer is 36 lines in 6 stanzas of 6 lines each. The rhyme scheme is AABCCB, complete in 5 of its 6 stanzas. The metre is iambic dimeter, measured from the stress the words themselves fix (confidence 92%). 99% of its stressed syllables fall where the metre puts the beat. The lines average 5.1 syllables. 42% of the lines run on without a stop at the line end.
See other poems in iambic dimeter.
Measured by Laurel's pipeline, not copied from a handbook: how stress and metre are counted, how rhyme is lettered, how a drifted rhyme is found. Where the dictionary cannot confirm a rhyme the letter is withheld, not guessed.
Rhyme words, stanza by stanza
The word that ends each line, lettered by the rhyme it makes; a dash is a line whose rhyme the dictionary could not confirm.
- 1 AABCCB steelA · keelA · tightB · sailC · galeC · nightB
- 2 AABCCB artA · partA · lengthB · hulkC · bulkC · strengthB
- 3 AABCCB howlsA · prowlsA · veerB · sleepC · keepC · engineerB
- 4 AABCCB trailA · railA · fliesB · onC · yawnC · liesB
- 5 AABCCB ridgeA · bridgeA · hellB · threadC · headC · cellB
- 6 AAB--B rideA · tideA · fearB · had · god · engineerB
Scansion, line by line
Each line with its syllable count and the stresses the words themselves fix: / stressed, ˘ unstressed, · a syllable the word leaves free and the metre decides. Read against iambic dimeter. How this is done.
| Line | Syl. | Stress |
|---|---|---|
| "She's built of steel | 4 | ···· |
| From deck to keel, | 4 | ···· |
| And bolted strong and tight; | 6 | ·/˘··· |
| In scorn she'll sail | 4 | ···· |
| The fiercest gale, | 4 | ·/˘· |
| And pierce the darkest night. | 6 | ···/˘· |
| "The builder's art | 4 | ·/˘· |
| Has proved each part | 4 | ···· |
| Throughout her breadth and length; | 6 | ······ |
| Deep in the hulk, | 4 | ···· |
| Of her mighty bulk, | 5 | ··/˘· |
| Ten thousand Titans' strength." | 6 | ·/˘/˘· |
| The tempest howls, | 4 | ·/˘· |
| The Ice Wolf prowls, | 4 | ···· |
| The winds they shift and veer, | 6 | ······ |
| But calm I sleep, | 4 | ···· |
| And faith I keep | 4 | ···· |
| In the word of an engineer. | 8 | ·····/˘/ |
| Along the trail | 4 | ˘/·· |
| Of the slender rail | 5 | ··/˘· |
| The train, like a nightmare, flies | 7 | ····/·· |
| And dashes on | 4 | ·/˘· |
| Through the black-mouthed yawn | 5 | ····· |
| Where the cavernous tunnel lies. | 8 | ··/˘˘/˘· |
| Over the ridge, | 4 | ···· |
| Across the bridge, | 4 | ˘/·· |
| Swung twixt the sky and hell, | 6 | ······ |
| On an iron thread | 5 | ··/˘· |
| Spun from the head | 4 | ···· |
| Of the man in a draughtsman's cell. | 8 | ········ |
| And so we ride | 4 | ···· |
| Over land and tide, | 5 | ····· |
| Without a thought of fear-- | 6 | ······ |
| Man never had | 4 | ·/˘· |
| The faith in God | 4 | ···· |
| That he has in an engineer! | 8 | ·····/˘/ |
The reader shows the same poem with its rhymes coloured and a stress row above each line, the notes beside their stanzas, and any word's definition on a tap; the analysis page takes the whole book apart. How every part of this site was made.