Classic Poem

If on the ocean tempest-tossed
My shattered bark be wrecked and lost,
Amid the wild and raging sea
All hope shall not depart from me.

With all my power, with steadfast will,
I'll wage a swimmer's battle still,
And, cleaving mighty waves that roar,
I'll urge my pathway toward the shore.

And if in this unequal strife
My powers succumb, and fails my life, —
If whirling waves that foam and hiss
Shall whelm me in the deep abyss, —

One great, sweet thought shall serve to fill
My heart with consolation still:
That hero-like my spirit passed,
Contending bravely to the last.