Poetry Explorer- Classic Contemporary Poetry, PORT NEWARK TERMINAL, by EDWARD STEVENS RANKIN


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Classic and Contemporary Poetry

PORT NEWARK TERMINAL, by                    
First Line: In his office on the meadows
Last Line: To our docks along the bay.
Subject(s): Newark, New Jersey


In his office on the meadows,
Looking eastward toward the sea,
There's an engineer a-sitting
With a blue print on his knee
With an army of employees
He is hastening on the day
When big ships will come a-sailing
To the shores of Newark Bay.
To the shores of Newark Bay
Where the sea gulls dive and play
Soon the ships will lie at anchor
On the waters of the bay.
On the road to Newark Bay,
Where the old salt meadows lay
And mosquitoes hummed like thunder
As they swarmed around their prey.

Since the founding of the City
Ten score years ago and more,
Men have dreamed of this achievement
Which the future held in store.
Now the plans are all completed
And the work well under way,
There's a city in the making
On the shores of Newark Bay,
Dredging, filling, driving, piling,
Building docks and railroads -- Say!
Something doing every minute of the day
Along the Bay.
On the road to Newark Bay
Where the furry musk-rats play
Where the reeds and rushes quiver
And the cat-tails wave and sway.

Down below the pumping station
Where men never trod before,
There's a broad highway a-leading
From the upland to the shore.
They are dredging out a channel
Pumping up the sand and clay,
To reclaim those swampy meadows
On the shores of Newark Bay.
Pumping up the sand and clay
From the bottom of the Bay,
Don't you hear the dredges pumping,
Pumpin', chunckin' every day?
On the road to Newark Bay
Where the slimy mud flats lay,
And the sewage smelled to Heaven
From the ditches 'long the way.

Take a look into the future,
See the smoke like incense rise
To the gods of trade and commerce
From the chimneys to the skies;
From the smoke-stacks of the engines,
Drawing loaded trains away,
From the funnels of the steamers
Sailing proudly up the bay.
And our neighbor 'cross the Hudson,
Looks with envious eyes this way,
As she sees the giant liners
Pass her by for Newark Bay.
On the road to Newark Bay,
See, the ships are on their way,
From the seven seas they're coming
To our docks along the bay.





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