The Course
Just as a ship sets sail and leaves her berth,
Her goal a port across the sea,
A new life starts a voyage from its birth,
No knowledge of its fate to be.
Smooth sailing rarely is the course of life,
For storm and tempest all will see;
The course of men's lives mixed of joy and strife,
In different measures though they be.
The chart of life a voyage by time drawn,
It inches on as days they pass.
The waves that break upon the reef at dawn,
The wary see with eye to glass.
There shoals exposed, as waves foam into spray,
And siren's voices tempt one on
To rocks, where wrecks of souls bemoan the day
They ventured close to ground thereon.
While some who founder, by bad luck are cursed,
Some careless to destruction sail.
The former despite care and thought, submersed,
The later by their own hand fail.
The goal of life: To reach the port and rest,
With sweet adventure on the way;
To navigate life's ocean depths and test
One's will, the charted course to stay.
poem by Dennis N. O'Brien
Submitted by Poetry Lover
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Related quotes
Sailin On
You dont want me anymore
So I walk through the door
I play the game right from the start
I trust you, you use me, now my lifes all torn apart
So Im sailing, yeah Im sailing on
Im moving, yeah Im moving on
Sail on, sail on, sail on, sail on
Tried to see if Ill give up
But there wasnt any luck
Its a fact, a fact of life
Thats the game, game of strife everything is all in stride
So Im sailing, yeah Im sailing on
Im moving, yeah Im moving on
Sail on, sail on, sail on, sail on
So Im sailing, yeah Im sailing on
Im moving, yeah Im moving on
Sail on, sail on, sail on, sail on
Too many years with too many tears
And too many days with none to say
So how will we know when theres nowhere to grow
The fact of life, life too short oh
Theres too many years with too many tears
Theres too many days with none to say no, no
So how will we know when theres nowhere to grow
The fact of life, the fact of life yeah
Too many years with too many tears
And too many days with none to say
So how will we know when theres nowhere to grow
The fact of life, life too short oh
song performed by by No Doubt
Submitted by Lucian Velea
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Voyage to the Depth
Voyage to the Depth
By: Adam M. Snow
Woe unto us, one of many,
Yet was not the foe-of any-
Unto us the storm crashing tides,
But to sail on, voyage to the depth.
I envy Seas, whereon we rides-
By thee captain side, I stand tall.
Waves crashing upon the haul,
The creaks of soaked oaken rot.
A sound throughout the ship had caught.
Tossing and turning, the ship sailed not.
The thoughts of death upon us all,
Among this time, we all stand tall.
We await the time calming sea,
To sail this voyage once again.
We know not the curse may be,
But we know to sail on to the depth.
None-the-less to live on dreaming,
As we sail the moonlit tides gleaming.
A glistening light in the far distance,
Our only hope to our existence.
That might prove useful and yet never proves.
Closer we are, the further it moves.
Lest not give up hope,
For many should cope.
A journey seen fit till the end.
I should not dare to leave my friend,
But if we do not see the shore again,
I make mend of my very sin.
But the stormy seas rages still,
This voyage ceases to thrill.
Lightning clashes throughout the sky.
A time like this, all things must die.
Journey on to that dark horizon,
Until our bodies rot and wizen
All but I am sickened for home,
Out at sea, do we roam.
Many are ill since lost at sea,
All now knows what our curse may be.
Traveled the world, many times till now,
Onto the depth, our soul soon sail.
We leave behind our eternal vow,
Our promise to return to our love somehow.
We now sail down the river Styx,
Free from the havoc ocean tides.
Lost at sea, not a month but six,
As we leave behind our many brides.
Our vision's clearer than ever before,
Our voyage ends, not a glimpse of shore.
Our soul sails on, unto the abyss,
Our life's voyage went amiss.
We leave behind a story untold,
Many a child to whom never hold.
poem by Adam M. Snow
Submitted by Poetry Lover
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The Ship That Never Returned
On a summer's day while the waves were rippling, with a quiet and a gentle breeze;
A ship set sail with a cargo laden for a port beyond the sea.
Did she ever return? No, she never returned, and her fate is still unlearned,
But a last poor man set sail commander, on a ship that never returned.
There were sad farewells, there were friends forsaken, and her fate is still unlearned,
But a last poor man set sail commander on a ship that never returned.
Did she ever return? No, she never returned, and her fate is still unlearned,
But a last poor man set sail commander, on a ship that never returned.
Said a feeble lad to his aged mother, I must cross that deep blue sea,
For I hear of a land in the far off country, where there's health and strength for me.
Did she ever return? No, she never returned, and her fate is still unlearned,
But a last poor man set sail commander, on a ship that never returned.
'Tis a gleam of hope and a maze of danger, and our fate is still to learn,
And a last poor man set sail commander, on a ship that never returned.
Did she ever return? No, she never returned, and her fate is still unlearned,
But a last poor man set sail commander, on a ship that never returned.
Said this feeble lad to his aged mother, as he kissed his weeping wife,
"Just one more purse of that golden treasure, it will last us all through life.
Did she ever return? No, she never returned, and her fate is still unlearned,
But a last poor man set sail commander, on a ship that never returned.
"Then we'll live in peace and joy together and enjoy all I have earned."
So they sent him forth with a smile and blessing on a ship that never returned.
Did she ever return? No, she never returned, and her fate is still unlearned,
But a last poor man set sail commander, on a ship that never returned.
poem by Henry Clay Work
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A Ship Without A Sail
I dont know what day it is
Or if its dark or fair
Somehow, thats just the way it is
And I dont really care
I go to this or that place
I seem alive and well
My head is just a hat place
My breast an empty shell
And Ive a faded dream to sell
All alone, all at sea
Why does nobody care for me?
When theres no love to hold my love
Why is my heart so frail?
Like a ship without a sail.
Out on the ocean,
Sailors can use a chart
Im on the ocean
Guided by just a lonely heart
Still alone, still at sea
Still theres no one to care for me
When theres no hand to hold my hand
Life is a loveless tale
For a ship without a sail
(bridge)
Still alone, still at sea
Still theres no one to care for me
When theres no hand to hold my hand
Life is a loveless tale
For a ship without a sail
song performed by by Ella Fitzgerald
Submitted by Lucian Velea
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If I Was Captain
One day, one dusk, and then a new dawn,
Set sail for vast new shores.
Watch the afternoon sunset, son
Hear the broadside cannons roar.
All the way to the horizon boys,
Make haste to make port by sundown.
Take heed, forewarned, of who we are son,
We'll pillage and sack this town.
Dance around in the setting sun,
Laugh all day, sing all night.
Rum is a sailor's best friend, son
Drink till the new day is in sight.
See the foam froth at the starboard end,
Make anchor in the evening light.
Climb skywards to yonder crow's nest, son,
Prepare to plunder and plight.
But though the life sounds tempting,
A deceiver I am to you.
Reality is a different story, son
It is a life I live untrue.
We swab the decks, we tire our bones,
We sweat till the day is done.
No rum, no laughter, no singing, son
Tis' a life lacking in fun.
Yet, my boy, if I was to be called the captain,
And swear allegiance to sand and sea,
No further look ye for adventure, son
I'd offer a life that is free.
And raise Old Roger upon the mast,
A flag most jolly to behold.
Sail at the wheel for seven yar, son
In search of woman, rum and gold.
So take thy advice for a life of ease,
And out with this old captain!
We shall run the scurvy dog through, son
And for us the ship shall remain.
And to reach a new day, a new dusk and a new dawn,
Under I me ‘arties we sail!
No nothing shall oppose, son
No never shall we fail!
poem by Stuart McKenzie
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High School
A traveler's blurry vision clears up as the ship gone near the port.
Mist that once engulfed us now spit us out of his territory
Expedition has ended but journey to live never.
These crews were working together in the oceans for approximately 800 days
Plus 104 days of land tours.
They'd change captains 4 times yet pirates keep coming in.
They were unafraid and fight back.
Yet they do not have torpedoes nor cannons but words.
The seas got mad for the disturbance
Wind blew hard and brought a storm
Made huge waves smashing us unto the rocks of an endless shore
Our ship was there, almost destroyed
However these crews with the help of the captain
As we never expected stood up and initiate the ship's
Recovery
Now sailing proudly exclaiming gladly with every island passed through
Yet the points were all filled with X
Every location that should be colonized were colonized
We are heading back to the origin
Every lives of this Crew family should be lived separately
The expedition is over, but we'd nowhere to go
But away to live prosperously
Yet to complete a seafarers life was to go unto the sea
So to live our life completely, indeed for thee
We go another sail with a different rail
To learn how to seek treasure upon
The burning sun and the shores with infinite sand.
poem by Ellirie Aviles
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The Winds of Fate
One ship drives east and another drives west
With the selfsame winds that blow.
Tis the set of the sails
And not the gales
Which tells us the way to go.
Like the winds of the seas are the ways of fate,
As we voyage along through the life:
Tis the set of a soul
That decides its goal,
And not the calm or the strife.
poem by Ella Wheeler Wilcox from World Voices
Submitted by Poetry Lover
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To Captain West, of the Steamer Atlantic
The gathering clouds around us lower,
The tempest wildly raves,
But fearlessly our noble ship
The angry ocean braves,
And buoyant as a sea-bird rides
The crested mountain waves.
The gale, the storm, the night may come,
No fear disturbs the breast;
Our ship is strong,---our Captain brave,---
And we securely rest.
Long life to him and all his Line!
Health to the gallant West!
Pilgrims to many lands are we,
And now our travel o'er
Once more beneath the Stars and Stripes
We near our native shore;
And since we parted from it last
Who does not love it more?
Adieu, new friends and old, adieu!
May every wandering breeze
That meets you on the Voyage of Life
Be far less rude than these
That our good ship has met so well
Upon the wintry seas.
poem by Anne Lynch Botta from Poems (1848)
Submitted by Veronica Serbanoiu
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Barcarolle
The stars are dimly seen among the shadows of the bay,
And lights that win are seen in strife with lights that die away.
The wave is very still -- the rudder loosens in our hand,
The zephyr will not fill our sail and waft us to the land;
O precious is the pause between the winds that come and go,
And sweet the silence of the shores between the ebb and flow.
No sound but sound of rest is on the bosom of the deep,
Soft as the breathing of a breast serenly hushed with sleep:
Lay by the ear; there is a voice at heart to sing or sigh --
O what shall be the choice of barcarolle or lullaby?
Say shall we sing of day or night, fair land or mighty ocean,
Of any rapturous delight or any dear emotion,
Of any joy that is on earth, or hope that is above--
The holy country of our birth, or any song of love?
Our heart in all our life is like the hand of one who steers
A bark upon an ocean rife with dangers and with fears;
The joys, the hopes, like waves or wings, bear up this life of ours --
Short as a song of all these things that make up all its hours.
Spread sail! For it is Hope today that like a wind new-risen
Doth waft us on a golden wing towards a new horizon,
That is the sun before our sight, the beacon for us burning,
That is the star in all our night of watching and of yearning.
Love is this thing that we pursue today, tonight, for ever,
We care not whither, know not who shall be at length the giver:
For Love, -- our life and all our years are cast upon the waves;
Our heart is as the hand that steers; -- but who is He that saves?
We ply with oars, we strive with every sail upon our mast --
We never tire, never fail -- and Love is seen at last:
A low and purple mirage like a coast where day is breaking --
Sink sail! for such a dream of Love is lost before the waking.
poem by Arthur William Edgar O'Shaughnessy
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Sailing Ships
(coverdale/vandenberg)
Do you remember
Standing on the shore,
Head in the clouds,
Your pockets filled with dreams
Bound for glory
On the seven seas of life,
But, the ocean is deeper than it seems
The wind was with you
When you left on the morning tide,
You set your sail for an island in the sun,
On the horizon, dark clouds up ahead,
For the storm has just begun
Take me with you,
Take me far away,
Lead me to the distant shore
Sail your ship across the water,
Spread your wings across the sky
Take the time to see
Youre the one who holds the key,
Or sailing ships will pass you by
You cry for mercy,
When you think youve lost your way,
You drift alone, if all your hope is gone
So find the strength and you will see
You control, your destiny,
After all is said and done
So take me with you,
Take me far away,
An lead me to the distant shore
Sail your ship across the water,
Spread your wings across the sky
Take the time to see
Youre the one who holds the key,
Or sailing ships will pass,
Sailing ships will pass you,
Sailing ships will pass you by...
Take me with you,
Take me far away,
Well ride the wind across the sky
Spread your wings and you will see
You control, your destiny,
So sailing ships dont pass you by
So take me with you,
Take me far away,
Well ride the wind across the sky
Spread your wings and you will see
You control, your destiny,
So sailing ships dont pass,
So sailing ships dont pass you,
So sailing ships dont pass you by...
Baby, baby, baby, baby,
Youll find that youre the only one
Can sail your ship across the sky
song performed by by Whitesnake
Submitted by Lucian Velea
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I Am Sailing Alone
Out of nowhere, I dreamt to go
To a place where no one else go
Then, suddenly, I realized
That I’m sailing alone and despised
Gone with the wind, I tried to conquer to life
Yet, life has conquered me before I come to life
Who so will have me bear?
This miseries and pain I come to heir
Solely, out in the dark I used to hide myself
Feverish, I went out to the light
But, only I and I can carry out the fight
Against the ravishing waves the sore the ocean floor.
I did not face the life that surrounds the sea
And now I come to face a rather painful plea
For now, I’m so afraid to go back to my land
I am sailing alone across where I belong.
I am sailing alone, without someone to care
I am sailing alone, with all the thought to bear
No one else is here, for I am sailing alone
I am sailing alone, I am sailing alone.
poem by Jennie Bajamundi
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Sailboat
As each grass grows and blows, so it is how each soul in life must grow, which goes like a sailboat.
Life is like a sailboat in that you are traveling on trouble waters as you embark on your journey, and throughout your journey as deep and uncertain as the waters are for a sailboat, the same fate lies in the journey of life.
No matter how straight the gate of life is, one will always face troubling waters.
Some days may be sunny and great to sail, while other may be rainy and dark.
But just as a sailor is able to maneuver through troubling waters and is able to dodge rocks and waves; we too possess those entities to be able to be rocked and stay steady like a sailboat.
But at the end of the day we are able to look to the sky and see the clouds and know that the unmoved mover is the reason for any progress through the struggle.
Being able to look from the higher land above, we then can see from where we have come.
As unsuspected as it may seem, sailing through all the struggles, we can now see the beauty of life from the other side looking in
poem by Coker George
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Voyage of life
Life is a ship on a long voyage
in an instable sea
The sea sometimes clam
The sail so smooth
With immense tranquility
The ship moves gracefully
Without any hurry
Sans any tension
It just glides smoothly
In sync with the sea
Sea sometimes fuming
The voyage becomes a challenge
Destination becomes out of focus
There is no one to guide
Sturdy tides trying to block us
And trying to break us down
And we do tend to lose hope
Sometimes it gets tougher
And we are ready to quit
But when the going gets tougher
And tougher gets the going
We just need a light house
To guide us through the dark
It brings the destination in focus
And gives us the needed boost
And the rest lies in our spirit
And determination to fight
But once we learn to struggle
And do not give up till last breath
We would definitely reach the shore
And our name would be written
All over the sea
The sea would be a witness
Of our great achievements
Telling tales of our success
To the future generation
Giving them the needed inspiration
To follow our foot steps
poem by Kavitha Krishnamurthy
Submitted by Poetry Lover
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Come Sail Away
Written by dennis deyoung
Lead vocals by dennis deyoung
Im sailing away, set an open course for the virgin sea
Ive got to be free, free to face the life thats ahead of me
On board, Im the captain, so climb aboard
Well search for tomorrow on every shore
And Ill try, oh lord, Ill try to carry on
I look to the sea, reflections in the waves spark my memory
Some happy, some sad
I think of childhood friends and the dreams we had
We live happily forever, so the story goes
But somehow we missed out on that pot of gold
But well try best that we can to carry on
A gathering of angels appeared above my head
They sang to me this song of hope, and this is what they said
They said come sail away, come sail away
Come sail away with me
Come sail away, come sail away
Come sail away with me
I thought that they were angels, but to my surprise
They climbed aboard their starship and headed for the skies
Singing come sail away, come sail away
Come sail away with me
Come sail away, come sail away
Come sail away with me
song performed by by Styx
Submitted by Lucian Velea
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The Fisher’s Boy
MY life is like a stroll upon the beach,
As near the ocean’s edge as I can go;
My tardy steps its waves sometimes o’erreach,
Sometimes I stay to let them overflow.
My sole employment is, and scrupulous care,
To place my gains beyond the reach of tides,—
Each smoother pebble, and each shell more rare,
Which Ocean kindly to my hand confides.
I have but few companions on the shore:
They scorn the strand who sail upon the sea;
Yet oft I think the ocean they’ve sailed o’er
Is deeper known upon the strand to me.
The middle sea contains no crimson dulse,
Its deeper waves cast up no pearls to view;
Along the shore my hand is on its pulse,
And I converse with many a shipwrecked crew.
poem by Henry David Thoreau
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For You Two
There’s a plan for you two which includes so much more.
Happiness will flow your way as do waves to the shore.
You two will set sail, yet travel as one
In love’s ship of miracles toward the setting sun.
Your promise to each other is strength enough
To conquer any storm no matter how rough.
Each time you enter new waters and exciting ports
Your union will grow stronger and deal with any sorts.
Take heart as your ship of miracles readies to set sail,
Knowing that together unending love will prevail.
Your voyage toward the sunset was always meant to be;
As certain as the horizon marries the heavens to the sea.
poem by Gregory Huyette
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Or From That Sea Of Time
OR, from that Sea of Time,
Spray, blown by the wind--a double winrow-drift of weeds and shells;
(O little shells, so curious-convolute! so limpid-cold and voiceless!
Yet will you not, to the tympans of temples held,
Murmurs and echoes still bring up--Eternity's music, faint and far,
Wafted inland, sent from Atlantica's rim--strains for the Soul of the
Prairies,
Whisper'd reverberations--chords for the ear of the West, joyously
sounding
Your tidings old, yet ever new and untranslatable;)
Infinitessimals out of my life, and many a life,
(For not my life and years alone I give--all, all I give;) 10
These thoughts and Songs--waifs from the deep--here, cast high and
dry,
Wash'd on America's shores.
Currents of starting a Continent new,
Overtures sent to the solid out of the liquid,
Fusion of ocean and land--tender and pensive waves,
(Not safe and peaceful only--waves rous'd and ominous too.
Out of the depths, the storm's abysms--Who knows whence? Death's
waves,
Raging over the vast, with many a broken spar and tatter'd sail.)
poem by Walt Whitman
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Rimes Of The Other Mariner
Captain, my Captain, find another ship,
You need not hit the bottom on this rig,
You were born to sea, on this maiden trip,
Make not your cradle be your grave to dig:
Sleep not, unhear the siren's lullaby,
But hum the Naiad's tune in streams back home,
Your lady waits, and may in sorrows cry,
Should we all turn to be the ocean's foam:
History cared not much, on how we sailed,
It's what we'll land upon, that soon would count,
Of all odds, against which we have prevailed,
Bringing the booty home is paramount:
We lost our ship, but never will our will,
Heed not the sorceress, the curse she dares,
Have hope, and let your heart with courage fill,
We still could swim, if we have to, who cares:
We'll sail a thousand lives, but all in naught,
If not finding from what, and whence we roamed,
As life we tread, in its purpose, distraught,
When elegies are annals of the doomed:
Sail on Captain, set sail on this new ship,
To quest much glorious, nothing makes us kneel,
But mark, that as tide turns, and fortunes dip,
Life counts much more than all the pounds of steel.
.
poem by Reyvrex Questor Reyes
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The Sailor
I am not a man
Nor am I just a boy
I am the sailor
Sailing a different voyage.
I am sailing to the sun
Over the ocean deep and blue
Don't know where I am heading
Wont know when I am through.
I am sailing to the shore
To the places I have been before
Hoping just to hear
People cheer instead of fear.
I am not the truth
Nor am I just a lie
For i am the sailor
With the tears for you to cry.
I am sailing across the seas
To where I do not know
Till someone needs my needs
Calling through the snow.
I am steering the great boat
Navigating through the waves
Hoping that the truth will float
Instead of tears for me to know.
I am the only captain
Steering towards the rocks
With the waves across my brain
Pelting down like rain.
I will sail the seas forever
Till someone needs my help
Till then I pray for a lover
With needs to be felt.
I am not dead
Nor will I feel alive
Till I hear the world and you say
Never again will you cry.
Randy L. McClave
poem by Randy McClave
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Paper Ship
In the summer of my childhood,
I used to go down to the sea
and sail my paper ship
on each incoming wave.
Often I thought of sailing the sea
its lure always captured me
sailing my paper ship
into the sunset with just my love and I.
To find some deserted isle
where everything in tranquillity lay
leaving all the worries of life
for someone else’s mind.
Oh now those days are gone
and my children have taken my place
to sail their paper ships
to the places in my dreams.
20 February 2011
poem by David Harris
Submitted by Poetry Lover
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