Sagely we talked of others we had known—
Foolhardy mariners upon life's sea,
Who spread full-sail before the winds of chance,
And high of heart awhile rode gallantly
Over sunlit waters, till their bark was blown
On some uncharted shoal of circumstance;
And, flaunting yet their folly's fatal pride,
They perished in the stormless morning-tide.

Then we embarked and thrust out from the shore
By grey-haired wisdom piloted; no sail
We loosed to take the morn's impetuous breath,
Lest we be smitten by some sudden gale,
But, bent above the trusty labouring oar,
From wave to wave between the reefs of death
We kept a careful course beyond the shoals
Whereon had foundered those adventurous souls.

Yet all in vain; our strength was spent ere noon,
And, even as we reached the open sea,
The steersman's hand dropped listless by the helm;
And over unknown waters aimlessly
We drift through night beneath a shrouded moon,
Imploring some swift storm to overwhelm
Our weary lives that cower in the dark
Beside the old blind pilot, cold and stark.