Lely's Land by Malcolm MacWatt

Lely stands so still on the Zuiderzee
An engineer with a politician’s will to a build a dream
But his eyes were closed before he got to see
His dream made real on the Zuiderzee

A wonder of the modern world, a hundred years and counting in the making
I doubt that Lely’s calculations could account for such an undertaking
Yet as I drive across the 20 miles or so of the Afsluitdijk
The wild North Sea on one side and on the other the Ijselmeer so wide
I see towns raised up, raised up from nothing more than water
And engineer Lely looks out on this new land he demanded.
The lowlands expanded
And I wonder if he ever asks the question…

CH: Did they build it? They made a start, did they manage to complete it?
My heart hopes they used my plan to build a dam to hold the North Sea back
And make more land
A dike, the like of which the world above sea level’s never seen before
To keep the roaring floods at bay and the people safe onshore
A politician understands sometimes the best laid plans get set aside
Could such a dream become a nation’s pride?
Still in my eternal sleep I wonder …. did they build it?

So Lely when I pass you standing silent on the road that split the sea
I thank you for your vision and the good Dutch soil beneath my feet
And though your ears don’t hear me and your eyes no longer see
A nation’s heart will hold you dear, oh engineer you can rest in peace
Your legacy, your legacy, your legacy will last a thousand lifetimes
And the water shines
And I wonder if he ever asks the question…

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