Themes and Variations/Pensees
PENSEES.
I.
Out of the deep, the endless coil of truth,
With wear, and fret, and toil of many hands,
Strains slowly to the surface; while, in turn,
Each generation strives to lift the line
And read the secret of the fathamless sea.
Let us toil on! Who knows, before we go,
What living thought may flash from those green depths below?
With wear, and fret, and toil of many hands,
Strains slowly to the surface; while, in turn,
Each generation strives to lift the line
And read the secret of the fathamless sea.
Let us toil on! Who knows, before we go,
What living thought may flash from those green depths below?
II.
Columbus, wandering by the Iberian shore,
Asked of the waves to aid him in his quest,
And if, beyond that tremulous silver floor,
They murmured round some kingdom of the west.
Asked of the waves to aid him in his quest,
And if, beyond that tremulous silver floor,
They murmured round some kingdom of the west.
The breakers washed, in answer, to the land
Fragments of spicy wood, strange fruit, and shell,
And once a graven toy for childish hand,
A riddle for the sailor’s wish to spell.
Fragments of spicy wood, strange fruit, and shell,
And once a graven toy for childish hand,
A riddle for the sailor’s wish to spell.
And we, who wander by the whispering bent,
In faith, and dream, and broken memory,
Seek for a sign of that far continent
That lies beyond Death’s undiscovered sea.
In faith, and dream, and broken memory,
Seek for a sign of that far continent
That lies beyond Death’s undiscovered sea.