The train was fast approaching; it was speeding up the track;
a giant metal monster in a rage of smoking black,
when suddenly, towards the train, a horse and wagon veered,
colliding with the engine as the startled stallion reared.
The farmer’s death was horribly distressing and abrupt,
but progress has a tendency to harshly interrupt.
This juggernaut of industry careering round the bend,
was predisposed to bring the horse drawn era to an end.
—
© Lisa La Grange, 2016
Image Credit: Thomas Hart Benton, The Wreck of the Ole ’97 (1943)