Complete Poetical Works

THE TWO SHIPS

     As I stand by the cross on the lone mountain's crest,
         Looking over the ultimate sea,
     In the gloom of the mountain a ship lies at rest,
         And one sails away from the lea:
     One spreads its white wings on a far-reaching track,
         With pennant and sheet flowing free;
     One hides in the shadow with sails laid aback,—
         The ship that is waiting for me!

     But lo! in the distance the clouds break away,
         The Gate's glowing portals I see;
     And I hear from the outgoing ship in the bay
         The song of the sailors in glee.
     So I think of the luminous footprints that bore
         The comfort o'er dark Galilee,
     And wait for the signal to go to the shore,
         To the ship that is waiting for me.