My Daddy said he knew the man.
But I couldn't see any man.
Maybe he was too high, up there in the metal...
Or maybe Daddy was wrong,
and there really was no man.

Gray steel formed the beast.
The machine thundered and shook.
Among the gray, shaking as well,
hid a man.

Gloves covered what could have been hands.
A mask pinched his dusty face,
enclosing a nose and mouth.
And shielding his eyes and their lids were goggles.
He was sealed off from the World,
he was part of the machine.

As they continued, roaring into the distance,
my Daddy sadly said, "I knew that man".
But there really was no man.

Mary Timmons (Jack Timmons' Daughter)
June 5th, 2001