O Lord of miracles! I saw a curl of entranced smoke A marvel of Kings A wonder of wisdom An engine with bizarre screech and whistles From all its parts Emanated smoke and sparks On its ironed track It came gliding like dark monsoon clouds And leapt ahead like a bevy of soldiers And breezed past like a bird flapping its wings On its ironed trail It moved swiftly ahead Like a dark-bosomed woman Like showering clouds It came sailing from far afield With both hands For my faceI built a shield As I touched it with my hand To an abrupt halt came the train! This is the English version of a poem written by Mast Taukali, a 19th century Balochi poet. He is said to have written the following after first encountering a locomotive engine somewhere in the subcontinent Published in Daily Times, December 4th 2017.