THE GRAVE
Ships, grand as ever fought the ocean waves
And, conquering, wrought the welfare of mankind,
Have made the depths, eternity, their graves
And left, at best, but memories behind.
And, conquering, wrought the welfare of mankind,
Have made the depths, eternity, their graves
And left, at best, but memories behind.
The tidings, they have winged, from sea and land,
Like carrier doves, to every nation's door;
The flames of progress, that their pinions fanned,
To leap the dread abyss from shore to shore.
Like carrier doves, to every nation's door;
The flames of progress, that their pinions fanned,
To leap the dread abyss from shore to shore.
And dost thou scorn, oh, proudest barque, to lie
Where these have lain while cycles came and fled?
And dost thou dread, oh proudest heart, to die?
The great, the good, the beautiful are dead.
Where these have lain while cycles came and fled?
And dost thou dread, oh proudest heart, to die?
The great, the good, the beautiful are dead.
The depths, they bridged for countless hosts to cross,
With wealth for heart and body; soul and mind
Lament, in dirges deep, their awful loss;
Ungrateful and forgetful is mankind.
With wealth for heart and body; soul and mind
Lament, in dirges deep, their awful loss;
Ungrateful and forgetful is mankind.
When breaks the storm that may not be subdued,
'Till sinks thy barque, where millions more lie wrecked;
Why shouldst thou fear the depth's dark solitude
Whose Builder was creation's Architect?
'Till sinks thy barque, where millions more lie wrecked;
Why shouldst thou fear the depth's dark solitude
Whose Builder was creation's Architect?
Quaking above the fathomless abyss,
Midnight around, above, the tempest's frown;
One star illumines still, thy dark distress,
Since here the Son of God himself went down.
Midnight around, above, the tempest's frown;
One star illumines still, thy dark distress,
Since here the Son of God himself went down.