Black Iron Hearts

I found the smith busy at his anvil.
Each strike of the hammer threw sparks.
"Smith, smith, what are you forging?"
He said: "I'm forging a black iron heart."

"This heart will be heated as red as flame,
It will glow like a bonfire in the dark.
This heart will be stronger than stone or steel,
Nothing can break a black iron heart."

The land is filled with tireless machines,
I stumble in their tractor-tread marks.
Black smoke billows out and stains the bright dawn,
Smoke from untiring black iron hearts.

The grass is sere and dead. The streams are dry.
The land lies naked and stark.
Come, swelling sea, cover this cold corpse
And drown these black iron hearts.