AY, shout and rave, thou cruel sea, In triumph o'er that fated deck, Grown holy by another grave -- Thou hast the captain of the wreck. No prayer was said, no lesson read, O'er him; the soldier of the sea: And yet for him, through all the land, A thousand thoughts to-night shall be. And many an eye shall dim with tears, And many a cheek be flushed with pride; And men shall say, There died a man, And boys shall learn how well he died. Ay, weep for him, whose noble soul Is with the God who made it great, But weep not for so proud a death, -- We could not spare so grand a fate. Nor could Humanity resign That hour which bade her heart beat high, And blazoned Duty's stainless shield, And set a star in Honor's sky. O dreary night! O grave of hope! O sea, and dark, unpitying sky! Full many a wreck these waves shall claim Ere such another heart shall die. Alas, how can we help but mourn When hero bosoms yield their breath! A century itself may bear But once the flower of such a death; So full of manliness, so sweet With utmost duty nobly done; So thronged with deeds, so filled with life, As though with death that life begun. It has begun, true gentleman! No better life we ask for thee; Thy Viking soul and woman heart Forever shall a beacon be, -- A starry thought to veering souls, To teach it is not best to live; To show that life has naught to match Such knighthood as the grave can give. | Discover our Poem Explanations and Poet Analyses!Other Poems of Interest...HOW THEY GO ON by JAMES GALVIN WHERE? by GEORGIA DOUGLAS JOHNSON THE MASTER'S TOUCH by HORATIO (HORATIUS) BONAR A FIESOLAN IDYL by WALTER SAVAGE LANDOR THE GROVES OF BLARNEY by RICHARD ALFRED MILLIKIN MIANTOWONA by THOMAS BAILEY ALDRICH |