Classic and Contemporary Poetry
ULYSSES AND COLUMBUS, by ALFRED WILLIAM WINTERSLOW DALE First Line: Not over violet seas that rise and fall Last Line: Earning their freedom with free heart and soul. Subject(s): American Revolution | ||||||||
NOT over violet seas that rise and fall With whispering winds beneath an eastern sky, Lay the mysterious Island of the Blest, Nor in the limits of a pent-up lake Where timid seamen crept from isle to isle Scattered like stars in heaven, as a child Through the wide field wanders with doubting foot By daisies led that ever beckon on; But with the western sun, 'fore shifting gales Of hope and doubt, full many a weary soul Set sail upon the deep, and shot between The twin tall pillars, -- that sheer precipice From known to mystery, -- then into a sea Where wave and sky were blent with wreaths of cloud, Without a guide to lead, or star to cheer. And there he wandered, ere the storm came on And whelmed his bark, yet in his darkest hour Found -- not the shore he sought amidst the gloom, But life's eternal secret clear at last, Life's inmost mystery all made bright in death. And ages passed, and races rose and fell, And from their ashes other nations sprang Like flowers that draw life from the past year's grave. Last a strong soul, after long days of strife, Foiling the fears within, the foes without, Set sail from Spain, and groping in the gloom After the flying shore, the fable land, Stood bravely on in face of sea and storm. And, ere he won his goal, full many a pledge Of triumph long delayed came drifting on Far o'er the darkening blue, as land grew near, Lurking amid a mass of cloudy sky, Low lying in the far-off western wave. Then year by year swept on, and as they ran, Great forests rose and crumbled, and the lives Of men passed with them, while a mighty race Was gathering slowly, as the atoms meet That go to form the framework of a star, And mid the crash of kingdoms and of throne Rising like coral reefs from thundering seas. And British speech and British laws were theirs, And British princes. Faithfully they served For many a year, and rendered every due As it beseemed them, till an evil day Came on the rulers, and possessed their souls With foul injustice working cruel wrong. Then flamed our fathers' spirit, and they dared A struggle all uneven, till they broke The tyrant's chain and won their human right, Earning their freedom with free heart and soul. | Discover our Poem Explanations and Poet Analyses!Other Poems of Interest...THE BATTLE OF LEXINGTON by SIDNEY LANIER WASHINGTON'S OVENS, ADAMSES' LETTERS by ALBERT GOLDBARTH THE YANKEE'S RETURN FROM CAMP [JUNE, 1775] by EDWARD BANGS RODNEY'S RIDE [JULY 3, 1776] by ELBRIDGE STREETER BROOKS SONG OF MARION'S MEN by WILLIAM CULLEN BRYANT THE GREEN MOUNTAIN BOYS [MAY 9, 1775] by WILLIAM CULLEN BRYANT THE STORY OF SEVENTY-SIX by WILLIAM CULLEN BRYANT BUNKER HILL by GEORGE HENRY CALVERT THE LITTLE BLACK-EYED REBEL by WILLIAM MCKENDREE CARLETON CONTRA MORTEM: THE WOMAN by HAYDEN CARRUTH NOT TRANSHISTORICAL DEATH, OR AT LEAST NOT QUITE by HAYDEN CARRUTH IRELAND; WRITTEN FOR THE ART AUTOGRAPH DURING IRISH FAMINE by SIDNEY LANIER |
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