Poetry Explorer- Classic Contemporary Poetry, THE VOYAGERS, by BAYARD TAYLOR


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Classic and Contemporary Poetry

THE VOYAGERS, by                     Poet's Biography
First Line: No longer spread the sail!
Last Line: Can bring us to the isle?
Alternate Author Name(s): Taylor, James Bayard
Subject(s): Sea Voyages


No longer spread the sail!
No longer strain the oar!
For never yet has blown the gale
Will bring us nearer shore.

The swaying keel slides on,
The helm obeys the hand;
Fast we have sailed from dawn to dawn
Yet never reach the land.

Each morn we see its peaks,
Made beautiful with snow;
Each eve its vales and winding croeks,
That sleep in mist below.

At noon we mark the gleam
Of temples tall and fair;
At midnight watch its bonfires stream
In the auroral air.

And still the keel is swift,
And still the wind is free,
And still as far its mountains lift
Beyond the enchanted sea.

Yet vain is all return,
Though false the goal before;
The gale is ever dead astern,
The current sets to shore.

O shipmates, leave the ropes, --
And what though no one steers,
We sail no faster for our hopes,
No slower for our fears.

Howe'er the bark is blown,
Lie down and sleep awhile:
What profits toil, when chance alone
Can bring us to the isle?





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