Lay for the Day 31st
May
1868: the earliest recorded bicycle race takes place over two kilometres
at the Parc de St Cloud, Paris. It was won by Dr James Moore of Great
Britain (18471935, later Chevalier de la Legion d'Honneur).
To
the Bicycle
Humane chariot, most
valuable,
most laughable of machines,
complete companion of the human form
and to the human bottom bosom friend,
we are more intimate than most friends.
Cousin to the umbrella
and elder brother of the sewing machine,
an example to all your family,
you testify of an heavenly engineering
which angels do not need.
Once you went unrecognised,
bore eccentrics asymmetrically about,
stopped to pose for engravings.
What you gained in simplicity and equity
you gained also in beauty and usefulness.
You are our inventions
hymn to balance;
with the horse and the steam-train,
you write the perfect poem of distance
overland its sonnet.
Poised between your wheels,
between your pedals,
I feel I know your future
is secure. You cannot be replaced
any more than I can.
The
Lay Reader: an archive of the poetic calendar
Home
| Books | Music
| Events | New
work | Contact & ordering
|