THE SIGNALMAN

If the signal man tosses a penny
For the track that the train has to take,
What are the chances, if any,
That he'll ever avoid a mistake?

Now if you or I were the signalmen,
Wouldn't you think it was possible then
To wake up and learn what the levers can do
Lest the Bayswater tube go to Cambridge or Crewe,
And the Euston express end at Waterloo too?

Since all of us must be signalmen,
Why do you think it impossible then
To forget the penny and, while we have any,
Make use of our gumption just now and again?

JMT 1946