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BEHIND him lay the gray Azores, | |
Behind the Gates of Hercules; | |
Before him not the ghost of shores, | |
Before him only shoreless seas. | |
The good mate said: Now must we pray, | 5 |
For lo! the very stars are gone. | |
Brave Admiral, speak, what shall I say? | |
Why, say, Sail on! sail on! and on! | |
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My men grow mutinous day by day; | |
My men grow ghastly wan and weak. | 10 |
The stout mate thought of home; a spray | |
Of salt wave washed his swarthy cheek. | |
What shall I say, brave Admiral, say, | |
If we sight naught but seas at dawn? | |
Why, you shall say at break of day, | 15 |
Sail on! sail on! sail on! and on! | |
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They sailed and sailed, as winds might blow, | |
Until at last the blanched mate said: | |
Why, now not even God would know | |
Should I and all my men fall dead. | 20 |
These very winds forget their way, | |
For God from these dread seas is gone. | |
Now speak, brave Admiral, speak and say | |
He said: Sail on! sail on! and on! | |
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They sailed. They sailed. Then spake the mate: | 25 |
This mad sea shows his teeth to-night. | |
He curls his lip, he lies in wait, | |
With lifted teeth, as if to bite! | |
Brave Admiral, say but one good word: | |
What shall we do when hope is gone? | 30 |
The words leapt like a leaping sword: | |
Sail on! sail on! sail on! and on! | |
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Then, pale and worn, he kept his deck, | |
And peered through darkness. Ah, that night | |
Of all dark nights! And then a speck | 35 |
A light! A light! A light! A light! | |
It grew, a starlit flag unfurled! | |
It grew to be Times burst of dawn. | |
He gained a world; he gave that world | |
Its grandest lesson: On! sail on! | 40 |
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