The Thinker
Happy Friday,
Ideas are a dime a dozen. But it's you, the 'Thinker ', who wields the power of intellect and creativity capable of turning ideas into practical reality. This week, a break in the action to shine a poetic light on you and your team. Insights on engineering, business, and success you might rightly expect, but poetry? It views our world from an entirely different plane, which is precisely why it's worth a listen here. Someone presented me with this poem around 2,002. Today, I'm giving it to you and to your team. The imagery of the workshop and machinery serves as a metaphor for human endeavor, with the 'thought' and 'brain' symbolizing YOU, the 'Thinker' and the guiding force behind technological advancements and achievements.
The Thinker
BACK OF the beating hammer
By which the steel is wrought,
Back of the workshop's clamor
The seeker may find the Thought—
The Thought that is ever master
Of iron and steam and steel,
That rises above disaster
And tramples it under heel!
The drudge may fret and tinker
Or labor with lusty blows,
But back of him stands the Thinker,
The clear-eyed one who knows;
For into each plow or saber,
Each piece and part and whole,
Must go the Brains of Labor,
Which gives the work a soul!
Back of the motors humming,
Back of the bells that sing,
Back of the hammers drumming,
Back of the cranes that swing,
There is the eye which scans them
Watching through stress and strain,
There is the Mind which plans them—
Back of the brawn, the Brain!
Might of the roaring boiler,
Force of the engine's thrust,
Strength of the sweating toiler—
Greatly in these we trust.
But back of them stands the Schemer,
The Thinker who drives things through;
Back of the Job—the Dreamer
Who's making the dream come true!
With respect,
Dave
Feedback and blowback always welcome here: dave@goodnewsfriday.com
All past topics are available @ goodnewsfriday.com
Written by me, not ChatGPT: valuable speed assist and blunder avoidance by Grammarly
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