Silver and Roses, Henna and Myrrh

 

 

 

 

 

To a Helmless Ship

 

Who is it now who sails th’ Atlantic tide,

And puts down foot within the Occident,

Who knows the glory of Columbus’ pride

And what the purple with his sunset blent?

And when fair Caesar was but just a boy,

Who could foreknow the glory of his fate,

When gold with lambent silver should alloy,

Imperial the grandeur of his state?

Who can redo a deed already done

Or steal an ancient triumph from its wright?

Who can foretell a glory yet unwon

Or labor in fast destiny’s despite?

Take now what none many later take, nor shy

Resist a floweret that shall never die.

 

                               Friday, January 10, 1969

 

 

 

 

Image: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Dali_DiscoveryOfAmerica.jpg