Contents -BIBLIOGRAPHIC RECORD

Edmund Clarence Stedman, ed. (1833–1908). An American Anthology, 1787–1900. 1900.

By Ellen Mackay HutchinsonCortissoz

1128 A Cry from the Shore

COME down, ye graybeard mariners,

Unto the wasting shore!

The morning winds are up,—the gods

Bid me to dream no more.

Come tell me whither I must sail,

What peril there may be,

Before I take my life in hand

And venture out to sea!

“We may not tell thee where to sail,

Nor what the dangers are;

Each sailor soundeth for himself,

Each hath a separate star:

Each sailor soundeth for himself,

And on the awful sea

What we have learned is ours alone;

We may not tell it thee.”

Come back, O ghostly mariners,

Ye who have gone before!

I dread the dark, impetuous tides;

I dread the farther shore.

Tell me the secret of the waves;

Say what my fate shall be,—

Quick! for the mighty winds are up,

And will not wait for me.

“Hail and farewell, O voyager!

Thyself must read the waves;

What we have learned of sun and storm

Lies with us in our graves:

What we have learned of sun and storm

Is ours alone to know.

The winds are blowing out to sea,

Take up thy life and go!”