Poems (Jackson)/An Arctic Quest
PROUDLY name their names who bravely sailTo seek brave lost in Arctic snows and seas!Bring money and bring ships, and on strong kneesPray prayers so strong that not one word can failTo pierce God's listening heart!Rigid and pale,The lost men's bodies, waiting, drift and freeze;Yet shall their solemn dead lips tell to theseWho find them secrets mighty to prevailOn farther, darker, icier seas.I goAlone, unhelped, unprayed-for. PerishingFor years in realms of more than Arctic snow,My heart has lingered.Will the poor dead thingBe sign to guide past bitter flood and floe,To open sea, some strong heart triumphing?
AN ARCTIC QUEST.
PROUDLY name their names who bravely sailTo seek brave lost in Arctic snows and seas!Bring money and bring ships, and on strong kneesPray prayers so strong that not one word can failTo pierce God's listening heart!Rigid and pale,The lost men's bodies, waiting, drift and freeze;Yet shall their solemn dead lips tell to theseWho find them secrets mighty to prevailOn farther, darker, icier seas.I goAlone, unhelped, unprayed-for. PerishingFor years in realms of more than Arctic snow,My heart has lingered.Will the poor dead thingBe sign to guide past bitter flood and floe,To open sea, some strong heart triumphing?