Francis Bret Harte

The Two Ships

As I stand by the cross on the lone mountain’s crest,
    Looking over the ultimate sea,
In the gloom of the mountain a ship lies at rest,
    And one sails away from the lea:
One spreads its white wings on a far-reaching track,
    With pennant and sheet flowing free;
One hides in the shadow with sails laid aback,--
    The ship that is waiting for me!

But lo! in the distance the clouds break away,
    The Gate’s glowing portals I see;
And I hear from the outgoing ship in the bay
    The song of the sailors in glee.
So I think of the luminous footprints that bore
    The comfort o’er dark Galilee,
And wait for the signal to go to the shore,
    To the ship that is waiting for me.