Poem by Walt Whitman

Leaves of Grass. 19. Sea-Drift. 5. Aboard at a Ship's Helm

Aboard at a ship's helm,
A young steersman steering with care.

Through fog on a sea-coast dolefully ringing,
An ocean-bell—O a warning bell, rock'd by the waves.

O you give good notice indeed, you bell by the sea-reefs ringing,
Ringing, ringing, to warn the ship from its wreck-place.

For as on the alert O steersman, you mind the loud admonition,
The bows turn, the freighted ship tacking speeds away under her gray sails,
The beautiful and noble ship with all her precious wealth speeds
      away gayly and safe.

But O the ship, the immortal ship! O ship aboard the ship!
Ship of the body, ship of the soul, voyaging, voyaging, voyaging.

1. Leaves of Grass. 35. Good-Bye My Fancy. 13. Bravo, Paris Exposition!
2. Leaves of Grass. 30. Whispers of Heavenly Death. 7. Assurances
3. Leaves of Grass. 34. Sands at Seventy. 56. Old Age's Lambent Peaks
4. Leaves of Grass. 34. Sands at Seventy. 39. Life and Death
5. Leaves of Grass. 24. Autumn Rivulets. 36. With All Thy Gifts

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