By Charles Malam
Puff and snort, old black iron,
Creaking and groaning, a great beast of burden,
Shovel and scoop, digging deep,
Moving earth and rock, a giant's work.
On and on, never stopping,
Piles of fill rising high,
Trenches and canals, shaped and dug,
By the tireless steam shovel.
Man or machine, it's hard to say,
Toiling through the day and night,
A symphony of power and progress,
Pushing the boundaries of what's possible.
From fields to cities, and mountains to seas,
The steam shovel leaves its mark,
A testament to human ingenuity,
Reshaping the world, bit by bit.
But time waits for no one, and progress marches on,
The steam shovel, a relic of the past,
Now replaced by newer, faster, more efficient machines,
But its legacy remains, a reminder of an era long gone.
Through photographs and stories, its memory is kept alive,
A symbol of determination, strength, and the march of progress,
A reminder of the power of humanity to overcome challenges,
And to build a better future for generations to come.
So let us raise a glass to the steam shovel,
A true giant of the industrial age,
And pay tribute to the builders and engineers who came before,
Whose hard work and dedication shaped the world we live in today.