I discovered these men driving a new pile into the pier.
There was all the paraphernalia
of chains, pulleys, cranes, ropes and, as I said,
a wooden pile, a massive affair, swinging
over the water on a long wire hawser.
Everything else was in the massive style
as well, even the men; very powerful men;
very ruminative and silent men ignoring me.
Speech was not something to interest them,
and if they talked at all it was like this –
“Let go”, or “Hold tight”: all monosyllables.
Nevertheless, by paying close attention
to the obscure movements of one working
on a ladder by the water’s edge, I could tell
that for all their strength and experience
these men were up against a great difficulty.
I cannot say what. Every one of the monsters
was silent on the subject – baffled I thought
at first, but then I realised indifferent
and tired of the whole business.
The man nearest to me, still saying nothing
but crossing his strong arms over his chest,
showed me that for all he cared the pile
could go on swinging until the crack of Doom.
I should say I watched them at least an hour
and, to do the men justice, their slow efforts
to overcome the secret problem did continue –
then gradually slackened and finally ceased.
One massive man after another abandoned
his position and leaned on the iron rail
to gaze down like a mystic into the water.
No one spoke; no one said what they saw;
though one fellow did spit, and with round eyes
followed the trajectory of his brown bolus
(he had been chewing tobacco)
on its slow descent into the same depths.
The foreman, and the most original thinker,
smoked a cigarette to relieve the tension.
Afterwards, and with a heavy kind of majesty,
he turned on his heels and walked away.
With this eclipse of interest, the incident
was suddenly closed. First in ones and twos,
then altogether, the men followed. That left
the pile still in mid-air, and me of course.
- baffled
- (adj) confused, puzzled
- crack of Doom
- (n) the end of time
- foreman
- (n) leader of workmen
- hawser
- (n) cable used for building
- monosyllables
- (n) words of one syllable
- paraphernalia
- (n) equipment, special items
- pier
- (n) wooden platform over sea
- pile
- (n) large post used to hold up piers, buildings
- ruminative
- (adj) thoughtful, reflective
- trajectory
- (n) path, course of movement