In this poem, a machine lists out the strengths and limitations of machines. It relates how machines are made, how they are made to work, the things they do, their limitation’s and what would happen if they are not used properly.
The metal ore is taken from the ore beds in a mine. Then the ore is melted in furnaces and pits. The metal is extracted. The molten metal is moulded and shaped and with the help of hammers it is beaten and given a definite shape according to design. They are cut and smoothened by filing. These parts are tooled and measured to fit the slots meant for them. Thus, a machine is made.
These machines would work if a little space is given to them. They need water, coal and oil to function efficiently. When all these requirements are provided, the machines work and serve us twenty-four hours a day.
In the third stanza, we are told all the useful things machines do for us. They can pull heavy things, transport people and other material. They can push, lift and provide energy to move. They print, plough the land, weave cloth, heat things and provide light. They can run, jump, swim (move underwater), fly and dive. Just like people, they can see, hear, count, read and write.
The machines are not free to do everything. They have no mind. They have a law to abide by. They are not built to understand a lie. They cannot have feelings such as love, pity, hate and forgiveness. If a man commits a mistake while handling them he dies.
If they malfunction for some reason or the other, they are set right and would start functioning again. Though they are huge in size, have a lot of weight and power, they are the children (products) of man’s intelligence. Hence, they will be under his control as long as he uses them judiciously.
