And all the million miracles of steam
Depend on him for fuel that will turn
The wheels that urge them and the belts that churn.
Guns that will shatter fortresses of steel,
Ships that will plow the waves on steady keel
Bearing munitions for an army’s need
Must wait the miner’s orders and take heed
That he who toils within the coal mine’s murk
Gives them the coal with which they do their work.
Behind the men who battle in the trench