THE DISCOVERY FROM THE PSALM OF THE WEST' Santa Maria, well thou tremblest down the wave, Thy Pinta far abow, thy Niña nigh astern: Columbus stands in the night alone, and, passing grave, Yearns o'er the sea as tones o'er under-silence yearn. Heartens his heart as friend befriends his friend less brave, Makes burn the faiths that cool, and cools the doubts that burn: 5 I ""Twixt this and dawn, three hours my soul will smite With prickly seconds, or less tolerably With dull-blade minutes flatwise slapping me. Wait, Heart! Time moves.-Thou lithe young Western Night, Just-crowned king, slow riding to thy right, Would God that I might straddle mutiny Calm as thou sitt'st yon never-managed sea, Balk'st with his balking, fliest with his flight, Giv'st supple to his rearings and his falls, Nor dropp'st one coronal star about thy brow Whilst ever dayward thou art steadfast drawn! Yea, would I rode these mad contentious brawls No damage taking from their If and How, Nor no result save galloping to my Dawn! 25 ,30 II "My Dawn? my Dawn? How if it never break? How if this West by other Wests is pieced, And these by vacant Wests on Wests increased— Pursue the West but long enough, 'tis East! Oh, if for all my logic, all my dreams, Provings of that which is by that which seems, Fears, hopes, chills, heats, hastes, patiences, droughts, tears, Wife-grievings, slights on love, embezzled years, III 35 "Or, haply, how if this contrarious West, 40 45 That me by turns hath starved, by turns hath Embraced, disgraced, beat back, solicited, I saw my Judas needle shake his head And flout the Pole that, East, he Lord confessed! Where distraught Nature clean hath gone astray, On earth some other wit than Time's at play, Some other God than mine above the sky! IV "Now speaks mine other heart with cheerier seem- Ho, Admiral! o'er-defalking to thy crew To front yon multitudes of rebel scheming? Come, ye wild twenty years of heavenly dreaming! Made cowards blush at whining for their lives, 50 55 60 V "Ere we Gomera cleared, a coward cried, Go back, go back! they prayed: our hearts are lead. Friends, we are bound into the West, I said. 65 70 75 Then passed the wreck of a mast upon our side. Steersman, I said, hold straight into the West. Good Admiral, put about! O Spain, dear Spain!– 80 85 90 VI "Next drive we o'er the slimy-weeded sea. Lo! herebeneath (another coward cries) The cursed land of sunk Atlantis lies: This slime will suck us down-turn while thou'rt But no! I said, Freedom bears West for me! Never a ship, once turned, might homeward go; For Christ's sake, parley, Admiral! Turn, before VII "So when there came a mighty cry of Land! And we clomb up and saw, and shouted strong But knew at morn how that a counterfeit band Of level clouds had aped a silver strand; So when we heard the orchard-bird's small song, In clouds of nothing round the empty sky. VIII "I marvel how mine eye, ranging the Night, From its big circling ever absently Returns, thou large low Star, to fix on thee. Pedro Gutierrez, wake! come up to me. hand God's, East-mine, West: good friends, behold my 95 100 105 110 115 |