Prayer Of Columbus Poem Rhyme Scheme and Analysis
Rhyme Scheme: ABCDEFGHIJIIKLMN OPQRST UVWGGG XGYZGA2CGB2G GGGG GC2NWD2 E2E2B2F2 GG2UGH2B2H B2B2GB2I2J2G K2GB2G L2M2J2C2B2GU N2O2B2GUG VJ2P2J2G| IT was near the close of his indomitable and pious life on his last voyage | A |
| when nearly years of age that Columbus to save his two remaining ships | B |
| from foundering in the Caribbean Sea in a terrible storm had to run them | C |
| ashore on the Island of Jamaica where laid up for a long and miserable | D |
| year he was taken very sick had several relapses his men revolted | E |
| and death seem'd daily imminent though he was eventually rescued and sent | F |
| home to Spain to die unrecognized neglected and in want It is only | G |
| ask'd as preparation and atmosphere for the following lines that the bare | H |
| authentic facts be recall'd and realized and nothing contributed by the | I |
| fancy See the Antillean Island with its florid skies and rich foliage | J |
| and scenery the waves beating the solitary sands and the hulls of the | I |
| ships in the distance See the figure of the great Admiral walking the | I |
| beach as a stage in this sublimest tragedy for what tragedy what poem | K |
| so piteous and majestic as the real scene and hear him uttering as his | L |
| mystical and religious soul surely utter'd the ideas following perhaps | M |
| in their equivalents the very words | N |
| - | |
| A BATTER'D wreck'd old man | O |
| Thrown on this savage shore far far from home | P |
| Pent by the sea and dark rebellious brows twelve dreary months | Q |
| Sore stiff with many toils sicken'd and nigh to death | R |
| I take my way along the island's edge | S |
| Venting a heavy heart | T |
| - | |
| I am too full of woe | U |
| Haply I may not live another day | V |
| I can not rest O God I can not eat or drink or sleep | W |
| Till I put forth myself my prayer once more to Thee | G |
| Breathe bathe myself once more in Thee commune with Thee | G |
| Report myself once more to Thee | G |
| - | |
| Thou knowest my years entire my life | X |
| My long and crowded life of active work not adoration merely | G |
| Thou knowest the prayers and vigils of my youth | Y |
| Thou knowest my manhood's solemn and visionary meditations | Z |
| Thou knowest how before I commenced I devoted all to come to Thee | G |
| Thou knowest I have in age ratified all those vows and strictly kept | A2 |
| them | C |
| Thou knowest I have not once lost nor faith nor ecstasy in Thee | G |
| In shackles prison'd in disgrace repining not | B2 |
| Accepting all from Thee as duly come from Thee | G |
| - | |
| All my emprises have been fill'd with Thee | G |
| My speculations plans begun and carried on in thoughts of Thee | G |
| Sailing the deep or journeying the land for Thee | G |
| Intentions purports aspirations mine leaving results to Thee | G |
| - | |
| O I am sure they really come from Thee | G |
| The urge the ardor the unconquerable will | C2 |
| The potent felt interior command stronger than words | N |
| A message from the Heavens whispering to me even in sleep | W |
| These sped me on | D2 |
| - | |
| By me and these the work so far accomplish'd for what has been | E2 |
| has been | E2 |
| By me Earth's elder cloy'd and stifled lands uncloy'd unloos'd | B2 |
| By me the hemispheres rounded and tied the unknown to the known | F2 |
| - | |
| The end I know not it is all in Thee | G |
| Or small or great I know not haply what broad fields what lands | G2 |
| Haply the brutish measureless human undergrowth I know | U |
| Transplanted there may rise to stature knowledge worthy Thee | G |
| Haply the swords I know may there indeed be turn'd to reaping tools | H2 |
| Haply the lifeless cross I know Europe's dead cross may bud and | B2 |
| blossom there | H |
| - | |
| One effort more my altar this bleak sand | B2 |
| That Thou O God my life hast lighted | B2 |
| With ray of light steady ineffable vouchsafed of Thee | G |
| Light rare untellable lighting the very light | B2 |
| Beyond all signs descriptions languages | I2 |
| For that O God be it my latest word here on my knees | J2 |
| Old poor and paralyzed I thank Thee | G |
| - | |
| My terminus near | K2 |
| The clouds already closing in upon me | G |
| The voyage balk'd the course disputed lost | B2 |
| I yield my ships to Thee | G |
| - | |
| Steersman unseen henceforth the helms are Thine | L2 |
| Take Thou command what to my petty skill Thy navigation | M2 |
| My hands my limbs grow nerveless | J2 |
| My brain feels rack'd bewilder'd Let the old timbers part I will | C2 |
| not part | B2 |
| I will cling fast to Thee O God though the waves buffet me | G |
| Thee Thee at least I know | U |
| - | |
| Is it the prophet's thought I speak or am I raving | N2 |
| What do I know of life what of myself | O2 |
| I know not even my own work past or present | B2 |
| Dim ever shifting guesses of it spread before me | G |
| Of newer better worlds their mighty parturition | U |
| Mocking perplexing me | G |
| - | |
| And these things I see suddenly what mean they | V |
| As if some miracle some hand divine unseal'd my eyes | J2 |
| Shadowy vast shapes smile through the air and sky | P2 |
| And on the distant waves sail countless ships | J2 |
| And anthems in new tongues I hear saluting me | G |
Walt Whitman
(1)
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About Prayer Of Columbus
Prayer Of Columbus is a poem by Walt Whitman. This page includes the poem text, poet information, related topics, comments, and similar poems.
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