Classic Poem

FIRST V OICE

S O long adrift, so fast aground,
What foam and ruin have we found —
We, the Wise Brothers?
Could heaven and earth be framed amiss,
That we should land in fine like this —
We, and no others?

Second V OICE

Convoyed by what accursed thing
Made we this evil reckoning —
We, the Wise Brothers?
And if the failure be complete,
Why look we forward from defeat —
We, and what others?

T HIRD V OICE

Blown far from harbors once in sight,
May we not, going far, go right, —
We, the Wise Brothers?
Companioned by the whirling spheres,
Have we no more than what appears —
We, and all others?