Odysseus: I Have Travelled Over the Raging Sea
I
I have travelled over the raging sea,
sat in the counsels of the greatest men, of famous kings
I have met disaster, havoc and the enemy,
helped open the gates of Troy, have seen many things
and now after my travels are done,
I live with an aging wife
the bravest of my men are gone
and somehow I still long for strive
but have only tranquillity
where I exercise righteous laws,
unto a heroic race that is both brave and free
and I long for danger while my life is at a pause,
before the darkness beacons me
to take the last journey.
II
I want to cross the last barrier of the wide ocean,
through thunder, rain, hail and sunshine
challenge the eternal silences,
lead my mariners to another great victory
pull my sword, the string of my bow
feel the grasp of the armour that embraces my body
and even if wounded I bleed,
I will be truly living.
I want to experience another thrill,
by sheer determination sail to the beyond
before the eternal sleep catches me
and I in glee embrace Achilles on the other side.
Now I am brandishing his shield,
am determined to search, to conquer and never to yield.
(After Alfred Lord Tennyson/Reference: Ulysses by Alfred Lord Tennyson.)
poem by Gert Strydom
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Related quotes
To strive, to seek, to find, and not to yield.
Alfred Lord Tennyson in Ulysses
Submitted by Lucian Velea
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Ulysses
It little profits that an idle king,
By this still hearth, among these barren crags,
Match'd with an aged wife, I mete and dole
Unequal laws unto a savage race,
That hoard, and sleep, and feed, and know not me.
I cannot rest from travel; I will drink
Life to the lees. All times I have enjoy'd
Greatly, have suffer'd greatly, both with those
That loved me, and alone; on shore, and when
Thro' scudding drifts the rainy Hyades
Vext the dim sea. I am become a name;
For always roaming with a hungry heart
Much have I seen and known,-- cities of men
And manners, climates, councils, governments,
Myself not least, but honor'd of them all,--
And drunk delight of battle with my peers,
Far on the ringing plains of windy Troy.
I am a part of all that I have met;
Yet all experience is an arch wherethro'
Gleams that untravell'd world whose margin fades
For ever and for ever when I move.
How dull it is to pause, to make an end,
To rust unburnish'd, not to shine in use!
As tho' to breathe were life! Life piled on life
Were all too little, and of one to me
Little remains; but every hour is saved
>From that eternal silence, something more,
A bringer of new things; and vile it were
For some three suns to store and hoard myself,
And this gray spirit yearning in desire
To follow knowledge like a sinking star,
Beyond the utmost bound of human thought.
This is my son, mine own Telemachus,
to whom I leave the sceptre and the isle,--
Well-loved of me, discerning to fulfill
This labor, by slow prudence to make mild
A rugged people, and thro' soft degrees
Subdue them to the useful and the good.
Most blameless is he, centred in the sphere
Of common duties, decent not to fail
In offices of tenderness, and pay
Meet adoration to my household gods,
When I am gone. He works his work, I mine.
There lies the port; the vessel puffs her sail;
There gloom the dark, broad seas. My mariners,
Souls that have toil'd, and wrought, and thought with me,--
That ever with a frolic welcome took
The thunder and the sunshine, and opposed
Free hearts, free foreheads,-- you and I are old;
Old age hath yet his honor and his toil.
Death closes all; but something ere the end,
Some work of noble note, may yet be done,
Not unbecoming men that strove with Gods.
The lights begin to twinkle from the rocks;
The long day wanes; the slow moon climbs; the deep
Moans round with many voices. Come, my friends.
'T is not too late to seek a newer world.
Push off, and sitting well in order smite
The sounding furrows; for my purpose holds
To sail beyond the sunset, and the baths
Of all the western stars, until I die.
It may be that the gulfs will wash us down;
It may be we shall touch the Happy Isles,
And see the great Achilles, whom we knew.
Tho' much is taken, much abides; and tho'
We are not now that strength which in old days
Moved earth and heaven, 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.
poem by Alfred Lord Tennyson
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The Leviathan: Far, Far Down In The Freezing Deeps
(after Alfred Lord Tennyson)
Far, far down in the freezing deeps
where icy water continually over it sweeps
its arms twirls and its body is like a mass of rock
where it for centuries sleeps
and in the dark world below
it lies like a prehistoric monster as if in its grave
while the waves and hidden streams over it flows
and above it break wave upon wave
where it is silent since the devastating flood
hardly notices the waters rush,
while very slowly flows its lifeblood
and it lays waiting in ambush
until the day that Michael returns to earth
to erupt above the waters as if coming from new birth
as a gigantic monstrous thing
with multiple heads and fiery beaks that swing.
[Reference: “The Kraken” by Alfred Lord Tennyson.]
poem by Gert Strydom
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In the long years liker they must grow; The man be more of woman, she of man.
quote by Alfred Lord Tennyson
Submitted by Lucian Velea
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Cleave never to the sunnier side of doubt.
quote by Alfred Lord Tennyson
Submitted by Lucian Velea
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Self-reverence, self-knowledge, self-control; these three alone lead one to sovereign power.
quote by Alfred Lord Tennyson
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So many worlds, so much to do, so little done, such things to be.
quote by Alfred Lord Tennyson
Submitted by Lucian Velea
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Don’t Leave Without Him
Don’t leave without the Lord Jesus, when life on this earth ceases,
You need to know Jesus friend, before your life comes to an end,
Death on this earth brings a new; an eternity, for both me and you,
One with The Lord God forever; or one where you’ll see Him never.
All need to know, He Who came, and life, shall never be the same,
He, Who came to save your soul, from the penalty of Adam’s fall,
He, Who bore God’s righteous wrath, to put us on a different path,
A path which leads to Eternal Life, through The Lord, Jesus Christ.
God’s Eternal Truth, all should heed, for Jesus Christ, all will need,
Hearing this Truth, some may scoff; while others, simply put it off,
Saying I don’t need Christ now, but, maybe another day somehow,
However, if you wait too long, you will be singing a different song.
Everyone will experience eternity; difference is which side you see.
Some shall enter Heavenly Bliss, a place that many souls will miss,
For others will see a darker side, because God’s Truth they denied.
Heaven or Hell, all shall choose, one choice you win, one you lose,
The fact Jesus Christ already won, a place in Heaven for everyone,
Who, embraces as Savior, Christ, while on earth, you still have life,
For believers Christ gained victory, over Hell and death on Calvary,
Today if Christ you truly embrace, Heaven shall be your final place.
(Copyright ©04/2011)
And out of darkness came the hands that reach thro' nature, moulding men.
quote by Alfred Lord Tennyson
Submitted by Lucian Velea
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Because I do not wish to hope again
I
Because I do not wish to hope again,
to like an eagle spread my wings,
because I do not wish to gain
experience and to learn new things
and do not wish to soar up against the blue sky,
wondering what lies
beyond the scope of the vision of an eye
and with time in me all hope dies
why should I be afraid
when the darkness closes in,
when destiny has knotted my life in its braid
and I do not know what comes with the new morning?
II
Because am not the man I used to be
and the things of my youth now is of no interest
with age taking effect of my body
drawing me closer to the place of eternal rest
and on the other side of the beyond
there’s only darkness that I see
and to this ageing body I am bound with life’s bond
that is slowly leaving me
when the reality of life in death makes me aware
that life is only transitory,
that destiny has its impact everywhere
then as a tired man I still lift my eye to God in His glory.
III
Because the moments of tranquillity
have left me as if they have never been
and I am now enfolded in fragility
as if my eyes have never seen
the greatness beaconing on the other side of the beyond
as if no word or deed from me will last into eternity
as if no beauty, greatness I have found
or left a mark of my integrity or sincerity
I wonder what the reason for living is,
have difficulty to comprehend
what life holds
what pain, fear, joy and bliss
brings before the last of my life is spent?
IV
Because I know that time is running out,
that even a newborn child is bound to destiny
and it feels as if it’s no use to beg, pray or shout
as every single human being is covered in iniquity
I am left to pray to God for His mercy
and ask Him to let me forget the dreams, the plans and hope
that was once mine, and every single fallacy
that as a human being once did envelop
my mind, my heart and when His righteous judgement falls
may it be lenient as there is no way to live again
and deeds and words well meant become spent when death calls
as every human being is destined to walk the darkening plain
l’Envoi
to at an allotted time expected or unexpected depart from life
and even from the time of birth
the seeds of disaster and strive
are build into every human being living on this earth
and therefore I pray to meet You Lord
to experience the depth of your love
as is promised in Your eternal word
lifting my eyes to You who reign from above.
[Reference: Ash-Wednesday: I. “Because I do not hope to turn again” by T. S. Eliot.]
poem by Gert Strydom
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All experience is an arch wherethrough gleams that untravelled world whose margin fades for ever and for ever when I move.
quote by Alfred Lord Tennyson
Submitted by Lucian Velea
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Longing For Home
My Lord I am longing to go home, away from this earth that I roam,
For Lord I long to be at that place, where I can look upon your face.
High above earth’s lowly sod, in the Glory of Heaven with my God,
From a world where wrong is right, into that Glorious Eternal Light.
I know not when the time will be, when I’m brought up into Eternity.
That time is not for me to know, I am simply told by The Lord to go,
To go and preach to every nation, the Good News of His Salvation,
Until that time, I just need to be, a light for Christ for all men to see.
At times I long to be by the side, of Him, who on a cross had died,
Where He bled and died for me, so that I could live for all Eternity.
I long to see God’s eternal shore, where evil darkness is no more,
Where there’ll be Eternal Light, this my friend, both day and night.
I long to hear that trumpet sound, so that we can all gather round,
Gathered with those saints above, saved by God’s matchless love.
I long to see my loved ones who, on the day they died, truly knew,
That they departed into His arms, to be safe from all earthly harms.
I am longing for a new body too, it’s something like we never knew,
This body will be an eternal kind, with perfect form and perfect mind.
An Eternal Body prepared for me, that shall last through all Eternity,
And this new body will be Glorified, as I stand by The Savior’s side.
This longing will not leave my heart, until the day in which I depart,
Depart from here to be with Him, who died to cleanse me of my sin.
All who long for the appearing of, Jesus Christ in the clouds above,
By Jesus Christ, will be blessed, this with a crown of righteousness.
(Copyright ©03/2006)
Let the great world spin for ever down the ringing grooves of change.
quote by Alfred Lord Tennyson
Submitted by Lucian Velea
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I Entreat You, Alfred Tennyson
I entreat you, Alfred Tennyson,
Come and share my haunch of venison.
I have too a bin of claret,
Good, but better when you share it.
Tho' 'tis only a small bin,
There's a stock of it within.
And as sure as I'm a rhymer,
Half a butt of Rudeheimer.
Come; among the sons of men is one
Welcomer than Alfred Tennyson?
poem by Walter Savage Landor
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Odysseus
I saw him, a brave man, a king
standing tall at the helm
wearing the armour of great Achilles
carrying a great sword on his back
steering against a stormy wind
and renown among his own men
as the man whose plan made Troy fall
but beside him I saw a maiden
in gleaming armour, with lightning bolts
intertwining like snakes just below her breasts
with flowing long golden hair blowing like a flag
and in a ravaging sea they journey on
escaping the wrath of the waves, the storm
and the monsters that dwell in it.
poem by Gert Strydom
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In Memoriam A. H. H.: 7. Dark house, by which once more I s
Dark house, by which once more I stand
Here in the long unlovely street,
Doors, where my heart was used to beat
So quickly, waiting for a hand,
A hand that can be clasp'd no more--
Behold me, for I cannot sleep,
And like a guilty thing I creep
At earliest morning to the door.
He is not here; but far away
The noise of life begins again,
And ghastly thro' the drizzling rain
On the bald street breaks the blank day.
poem by Alfred Lord Tennyson
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In Memoriam A. H. H. 7
Dark house, by which once more I stand
Here in the long unlovely street,
Doors, where my heart was used to beat
So quickly, waiting for a hand,
A hand that can be clasp'd no more-
Behold me, for I cannot sleep,
And like a guilty thing I creep
At earliest morning to the door.
He is not here; but far away
The noise of life begins again,
And ghastly thro' the drizzling rain
On the bald street breaks the blank day.
poem by Alfred Lord Tennyson
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Better not be at all than not be noble.
quote by Alfred Lord Tennyson
Submitted by Lucian Velea
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I am a part of all I have seen.
quote by Alfred Lord Tennyson
Submitted by Lucian Velea
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Sin is too stupid to see beyond itself.
quote by Alfred Lord Tennyson
Submitted by Lucian Velea
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