The Engine

Into the gloom of the deep, dark night,
     With panting breath and a startled scream,
Swift as a bird in sudden flight
     Darts this creature of steel and steam.

Awful dangers are lurking nigh,
     Rocks and chasms are near the track,
But straight by the light of its great white eye
     It speeds through the shadows, dense and black.

Terrible thoughts and fierce desires
     Trouble its mad heart many an hour,
Where burn and smoulder the hidden fires,
     Coupled ever with might and power.

It hates, as a wild horse hates the rein,
     The narrow track by vale and hill;
And shrieks with a cry of startled pain,
     And longs to follow its own wild will.

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 Ella Wheeler Wilcox's The Engine

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     The cinematography in this poem is overwhelming. From the moment the word "deep" is read, the reader is in the moment. He rides on the engine or jumps back as it darts by. The personification of the train, "panting breath and startled scream,""Terrible thoughts and fierce desires," make the engine a real character, one a person could sympathize with. The similes also deepen that picture of what the engine is like: "swift as a bid in sudden flight," "It hates, as a wild horse hates the rein." The engine has personality and feelings as it moves quickly like an animal. Only once does Wilcox use a three syllable word (Terrible), and never is there a four or higher syllable word, which keeps the pace of the reader fast like the train, making the movements of the engine one with that of the readers' eyes. The poem The Engine is largely interactive with the audience, making it a highly enjoyable experience.