Classic Poem

O'er sheltered bays, by islands fair,
Our common course has lain;
But now we feel the swelling air
That bears us to the main.
This hour, while yet our flawless sails
Cling idly to the mast,
Before we tempt the future's gales,
Is sacred to the past.

No longer one united band
We'll brave the tempest-shock;
Alone each bark must leave the strand,
And shun the hidden rock.
The joys, the griefs, the friendly fears,
The mutual hopes of yore,
Have vanished with the bye-gone years;
They were; but are no more.

Yet sweet to think however wide
Our parting courses tend,
The self-same stars our wand'rings guide;
One port our journey's end.
Then onward, boldly onward steer,
Trust to the favoring breeze,
“Cast to the winds each coward fear,
And sail with God the seas.”