The Clattering Train

I found this poem quoted in Winston Churchill's book, The Gathering Storm, and it keeps coming to mind. Even though Churchill was talking about the rise of Nazi Germany, the poem seems frighteningly contemporary - as if it is speaking to the world today, though may God forbid.

Who is in charge of the clattering train?

The axles creak and the couplings strain,

and the pace is hot and the points are near,

and sleep hath deadened the driver's ear,

and the signals flash through the night in vain,

for death is in charge of the clattering train

There is even an excellent video of actor Albert Finney portraying Churchill reciting the poem.

The poem is abbreviated from a longer poem called "Death and his Brother Sleep," which, according to one source I found, is by Edwin J Milliken in Punch Magazine.