Poetry Explorer- Classic Contemporary Poetry, ODES I, 14. TO A SHIP, by QUINTUS HORATIUS FLACCUS


Poetry Explorer

Classic and Contemporary Poetry

ODES I, 14. TO A SHIP, by                     Poet's Biography
First Line: Yet on fresh billows seaward wilt thou ride
Last Line: That stud the far-off main.
Alternate Author Name(s): Horace
Subject(s): Ships & Shipping


YET on fresh billows seaward wilt thou ride,
O ship? What dost thou? Seek a hav'n, and there
Rest thee: for lo! thy side
Is oarless all and bare,

And the swift south-west wind hath maimed thy mast,
And thy yards creak, and, every cable lost,
Yield must thy keel at last
On tyrannous sea-waves tossed

Too rudely. Goodly canvas is not thine,
Nor gods, to hear thee when thy need is sorest: --
True, thou -- a Pontic pine,
Child of a stately forest --

Boast'st rank and empty name: but little trust
The frightened seamen in a painted stern.
Stay -- or be mocked thou must
By every wind in turn.

Flee -- what of late sore burden was to me,
Now a sad memory and a bitter pain, --
Those shining Cyclads flee,
That stud the far-off main.





Discover our Poem Explanations and Poet Analyses!


Other Poems of Interest...
Home: PoetryExplorer.net