For Teddy: "Crossing the Bar," by Alfred Lord Tennyson

[gauguin57]

Crossing the Bar
Alfred Lord Tennyson

Sunset and evening star,
And one clear call for me!
And may there be no moaning of the bar,
When I put out to sea,

But such a tide as moving seems asleep,
Too full for sound and foam,
When that which drew from out the boundless deep
Turns again home.

Twilight and evening bell,
And after that the dark!
And may there be no sadness of farewell,
When I embark;

For tho' from out our bourne of Time and Place
The flood may bear me far,
I hope to see my Pilot face to face
When I have crossed the bar.

[Spazito]

1. I have always loved that...

Thanks for posting it.

[gauguin57]

2. Someone at the wake last night mentioned that the family loved Tennyson.

And Aeschylus.

A modern American political family that loves poets. Can you imagine?

[Spazito]

3. It's funny, I see truth both in poetry and in political cartoons...

The poetry brings to the fore emotional truth, the political cartoons, the 'intellectual' truth. I love them both.

[gauguin57]

4. The family liked Tennyson's "Ulysses" ... and we heard of Teddy's use of Robert Frost

... here's the "Ulysses passage folks have been quoting this weekend ...

Tho' much is taken, much abides; and tho'
We are not now that strength which in old days
Moved heaven and earth; that which we are, we are;
One equal temper of heroic hearts,
Made weak by time and fate, but strong in will
To strive, to seek, to find, and not to yield.


Yes. I see Teddy there.