IN THE SUBWAY

Chaos is tamed and ordered as we ride;

The rock is rent, the darkness flung aside

And all the horrors of the deep defied.

A coil of wires, a throb, a sudden spark —

And on a screaming meteor we embark

That hurls us past the cold and breathless dark.

The centuries disclose their secret graves —

Riding in splendor through a world of waves

The ancient elements become our slaves.

Uncanny fancies whisper to and fro;

Terror and Night surround us here below,

And through the house of Death we come and go...

And here, oh wildest glimpse of all, I see

The score of men and women facing me

Reading their papers calmly, leisurely.