Twilight and evening bell,
And after that the dark!
And may there be no sadness of farewell,
When I embark; ############################Crossing the Bar
#############XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXAlfred Lord Tennyson
Stormy seas or eerie calm
Far offshore or harbor
Swabbing decks and hauling lines
Or constellation tracking
Decades pass of life and growth
At times I climbed, at times I fell
Now the final dogwatch nears
Time is past to foster fears
Longer shadows soon foretell
Twilight and the evening bell.
Four bells marks the second half
Dogwatch of my life
Dimming light though eyes grow wide
Rocks and reefs are passed
Still the sea can sling a storm
Threatening my ark
I’ll not fear the great unknown
Faced it down before
Eight bells now the first watch mark
And after that the dark!
Chronometer and sextant fail
To plot the course’s end
And I will cross the bar anon
As others wave from shore
I'll not look shoreward as I cross
That final parallel
My course is set; I’ll keep the helm
Steady as she goes
Until I shed my mortal shell
May there be no sadness of farewell
Don’t sob for me or shed a tear
When I have crossed the bar
And don’t keep score or mark my card
With A or C or F
If I have touched a single heart
And left uplifting mark
If I have warmed a single soul
I’ll feel my work is done
Then I'll not fear the dark
When I embark.
When I embark
May there be no sadness of farewell.
Edited 1/21/2013
recommend
Facebook
Twitter
bookmark 
print
Comments: 61
As others wave from shore"
Earlier today we were talking about the fact that when we return to Australia, some of our neighbors at the Retirement Village have "crossed the bar" while we were here. Only today we learned our neighbor to the left of our Villa passed last night. She was robust and appeared quite healthy last Spring when we left. Last month it was discovered she had a blood clot in her leg. Further tests revealed she had cancer in her liver.
This is a fine work that should be left lying around at home for your family to discover when you have sailed away through the veil.
Featured on the Wall of Bells on The Triple Name Club.
Thanks for sharing with Gather's Luminous Writers and Artists. Featured and tweeted.
one clear call for me
And let there be no mourning at the Bar
When I set out to sea.
Many times I rotated those words through my head as we would roll about in the tempest while living on S/V SeaYawl. I treasure the words and absorbed them as part of my being.
Your rendition and added thoughts bring it to life in a profound way. I hope it is ok if I save your words in my journal for today.
Thank you Thank you for the insights and wisdom!
May I will be a little sad when you leave but I for sure will rejoice that you were here.
that even the best of us are going,
But we'll afford a little smile
As they tarry on awhile.
Nicely done, John... a beautiful verse.
Easily, this one carries weight and ache though the narrator urges no tears. Exceptional use of languag and metaphor here.
Many might gloss over these glossas, not realizing their reflective value. Still waters run deep. You’ve stirred your words well here. Appearing at Mindful Poetry where it is now featured.
The 4th stanza seems written hurriedly. You might expand on something more personal or specific instead of touching a heart or uplifting a soul, those seem overused. Since you were so specific with the report card line, the generalities seem out of place.
The last two lines before your abbreviated inverted texto feel abrupt to me. I would rather see more depth of thought and length of line there.
I'd like to see it worked into something polished and ready to place in circulation.
I reworded, reworked, revised and finally returned to my lazy line with one word changed from the original. But I understand what you mean.
Very well done.
And left uplifting mark
If I have warmed a single soul
I’ll feel my work is done"
John, your glossa is so very beautiful. You have touched many hearts, I know, you have touched mine too. Thank you for your warm friendship.
also, I wonder if you have heard Rani Arbo's setting of Crossing the bar as a song? it is on her album Some Bright Morning. She was inspired to do that becasue she and her husband sat with his grandmother as she was dying and that poem was on her (the grandmother's) mind at that time.