Modern World

(Alternative Earth series) Come and talk to me softly as you sit by my side on the big metal bird getting ready for our ride. The engineer has taken a key from a big brass ring and he’s taking up the tension in the sleeping spring. The wings have started flapping, gently beating at the air and the driver’s pulling levers from his big driving chair. The wings are beating faster and suddenly we’re high climbing towards the clouds in the huge inviting sky. I can see a few wagons steaming down the roads see one at a coalers taking on his fuelling load, see the fiery glow from the furnaces red heart, the lazy puffs of steam that precedes its start. Down there in the channel are the big white sails, the sun reflecting back from the deck's brass rails as the mighty steel clipper powers on its way maybe sailing and steaming on to New Cathay. The wings are beating slowly. I feel you seated there tightly gripping my arm as the wind plays your hair. The driver’s waving to us. I see him pointing down and there spread below the roofs of old Parree Town. The wings are slowing, the driver looks around and with a gentle bump we’re back on the ground The world is changing fast. We can fly all the way from Old Lundun to Parree in well less than a day. What is to come? Perhaps the next thing we’ll see Is a machine crossing the Atlantick to New Amerikee; And we’ll solve the problem of being warm and dry. Every problem has its answer – they only need to try.