My Lattice and Other Poems

by Frederick George Scott

 

COLUMBUS

 
HE caught the words which ocean thunders hurled
    On heedless eastern coasts, in days gone by,
    And to his dreams the ever-westering sky
The ensign of a glorious hope unfurled;
So, onward to the line of mists which curled
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    Around the setting sun, with steadfast eye,
    He pushed his course, and, trusting God on high,
Threw wide the portals of a larger world.

The heart that watched through those drear autumn nights
    The wide, dark sea, and man’s new empire sought,
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        Alone, uncheered, hath wrought a deed sublime,
Which, like a star behind the polar lights,
    Will shine through splendours of man’s utmost thought,
        Down golden eras to the end of time.

1892