Free adaptation of ‘The Secret of the Machines’ by Rudyard Kipling (1865-1936)

Coming from deep down underneath,
Melted in the pit —
Cast and wrought hammered to design,
Cut and filed to fit.

Water, coal, oil is all we ask,
And just a thousandth of an inch to play:
And if you’ll set us to work,
We’ll serve you night and day!

We can pull, push and lift and drive,
Print, heat, weave and light,
We can run, race and swim and dive,
Hear, count, read and write!

Would you call a friend abroad?
Well give his name, his town and state to me,
You’ll see and hear your question hurled
Straight across the sea.

Did he answer you should come?
You can start this very evening if you choose,
You can take the Western Ocean
In the stride of thousand horses and screws!

Pushing and driving, weaving, lighting, running and diving
Hissing and humming, pounding, puffing, drilling and drumming