A Flying Song

Item

A Flying Song

O THE proud purr of it!

Whiz of it, whir of it!

O the fierce might of it,

Flare of it, flight of it,

Spin of it, speed of it,

Grip of it, greed of it!

O the wild will of it,

Throb of it, thrill of it,

Vim of it, verve of it,

Swoop of it, swerve of it!

Like a great dragon-fly over the blue,

So it flared, so it flashed, so it flickered and flew.

Nay, but the Hand of it,

Taking command of it;

And the wise Soul of it,

Keeping control of it;

And the brave Heart of it,

Beating as part of it,

Aiming the dart of it

Into the air:

That is the best of it,

Ruling the rest of it,

That is the marvel and miracle there!

Yonder no engine, witless and blind,

Driven by senseless piston and rod;

Its pinions are courage, its pilot is mind;

Its petrol and steam

Are vision and dream;

Its nostrils are filled with the breath of a god,

For there, like a speck, 'twixt the wings' mighty span,

Sit the Courage and Cunning and Strength of a Man!

O wind thou art humbled, O space thou art slain

By the wiles of a heart, and the wit of a brain!

O the way of it,

Swoop of it, sway of it!

O the wild will of it,

Throb of it, thrill of it!

Title
A Flying Song
Identifier
greatwar_macfie061
Media
<html xmlns:tei="http://www.tei-c.org/ns/1.0"><body><h1 align="" class="head">A Flying Song</h1><div class="stanza"><p class="line" style="text-indent:5%">O THE proud purr of it!</p><p class="line" style="text-indent:5%">Whiz of it, whir of it!</p><p class="line" style="text-indent:5%">O the fierce might of it,</p><p class="line" style="text-indent:5%">Flare of it, flight of it,</p><p class="line" style="text-indent:5%">Spin of it, speed of it,</p><p class="line" style="text-indent:5%">Grip of it, greed of it!</p><p class="line" style="text-indent:5%">O the wild will of it,</p><p class="line" style="text-indent:5%">Throb of it, thrill of it,</p><p class="line" style="text-indent:5%">Vim of it, verve of it,</p><p class="line" style="text-indent:5%">Swoop of it, swerve of it!</p><p class="line">Like a great dragon-fly over the blue,</p><p class="line">So it flared, so it flashed, so it flickered and flew.</p><p class="line" style="text-indent:5%">Nay, but the Hand of it,</p><p class="line" style="text-indent:5%">Taking command of it;</p><p class="line" style="text-indent:5%">And the wise Soul of it,</p><p class="line" style="text-indent:5%">Keeping control of it;</p><p class="line" style="text-indent:5%">And the brave Heart of it,</p><p class="line" style="text-indent:5%">Beating as part of it,</p><p class="line" style="text-indent:5%">Aiming the dart of it</p><p class="line" style="text-indent:5%">Into the air:</p><p class="line" style="text-indent:5%">That is the best of it,</p><p class="line" style="text-indent:5%">Ruling the rest of it,</p><p class="line" style="text-indent:5%">That is the marvel and miracle there!</p></div><div class="stanza"><p class="line">Yonder no engine, witless and blind,</p><p class="line">Driven by senseless piston and rod;</p><p class="line">Its pinions are courage, its pilot is mind;</p><p class="line" style="text-indent:5%">Its petrol and steam</p><p class="line" style="text-indent:5%">Are vision and dream;</p><p class="line">Its nostrils are filled with the breath of a god,</p><p class="line">For there, like a speck, 'twixt the wings' mighty span,</p><p class="line">Sit the Courage and Cunning and Strength of a Man!</p><p class="line">O wind thou art humbled, O space thou art slain</p><p class="line">By the wiles of a heart, and the wit of a brain!</p><p class="line" style="text-indent:5%">O the way of it,</p><p class="line" style="text-indent:5%">Swoop of it, sway of it!</p><p class="line" style="text-indent:5%">O the wild will of it,</p><p class="line" style="text-indent:5%">Throb of it, thrill of it!</p></div></body></html>