Charles
Frederick Malam was an American Poet born in Vermont in 1906, who lived until
1981. His poem ‘Steam Shovel’ follows the rhyme scheme of AABCB and compares the
steam shovel to a dinosaur.
Set on a work site, the steam shovel is a powerful and playful dinosaur which ‘chewed
and grinned quite amiably’. Described by the use of imagery such as ‘iron head’,
‘white steam’, ‘jaws were dripping’, the author sends the message that the
dinosaurs are not all dead.
