We saw them come down the River, the comical, secret floats,
Weird shapes like a madman's playthings-and what could the monsters be?
Were they bridges, or docks, or jetties? Were they ferries, or forts, or boats?
We held our peace, and we wondered, and they quietly passed to sea.

But now I have seen the weird shapes made one in a work of art.
I have seen the incredible harbour the British have brought to birth:
The puzzle toy is complete now, each mad piece playing a part;
And this, I say, is a Wonder that never was matched on earth.

It was built in the open Channel, it was built on a hostile shore,
It was built in the filthy weather, it was built in a nasty blow:
But it lies as neat as a jig-saw set out on a nursery floor,
And it feeds the conquering armies, wherever the armies go.

Give thanks for the wild inventors, give thanks for the fearless wits,
Who set themselves to a riddle that never was put before;
Give thanks for the faultless workers who ferried the crazy bits,
And fashioned a mighty harbour, in storm, on a hostile shore.
October 1, 1944