Where'er the keel of our good ship The sea's rough field shall plough,-- Where'er her tossing spars shall drip With salt-spray caught below-- That ship must heed her master's beck, Her helm obey his hand, And seamen tread her reeling deck As if they trod the land. Her oaken ribs the vulture-beak Of Northern ice may peel; The sunken rock and coral peak May grate along her keel; And know we well the painted shell We give to wind and wave, Must float, the sailor's citadel, Or-sink, the sailor's grave! Ho!--strike away the bars and blocks, And set the good ship free! Why lingers on these dusty rocks The young bride of the sea? Look! how she moves adown the grooves, In graceful beauty now! How lowly on the breast she loves Sinks down her virgin prow! God bless her! wheresoe'er the breeze Her snowy wing shall fan, Aside the frozen Hebrides, Or sultry Hindostan! Where'er, in mart or on the main, With peaceful flag unfurled, She helps to wind the silken chain Of commerce round the world! Be hers the Prairie's golden grain, The Desert's golden sand, The clustered fruits of sunny Spain, The spice of Morning-land! Her pathway on the open main May blessings follow free, And glad hearts--welcome back again Her white sails from the sea! HELPS TO STUDY. Notes and Questions. What time of day is indicated in the first and second stanzas? What tells you this? How does the smith "scourge" the anvil? What effect does the poet fancy this has upon the anvil? Which of these two thoughts do you suppose first occurred to the poet? What are the "island barges"? What is a "century-circled oak"? Did you ever see one? What is Whittier's idea of a shipbuilder's work? In what way would a "yawning seam" tempt the sea? What is the "painted shell"? How is a ship launched? What other poem have you read which describes the launching of a ship? Who wrote it? Which poem do you like better? Why? Words and Phrases for Discussion., "gnarled oak" "faithless joint" "coral peak" "the sailor's citadel" "snowy wing" "Desert's golden sand" "spice of Morningland" * * * * * OLIVER WENDELL HOLMES Oliver Wendell Holmes's birth year, 1809, was made memorable on both sides of the Atlantic by the births of Lincoln, Tennyson, Poe, and Gladstone. His father, of colonial descent, was a Congregational minister at Cambridge. On his mother's side--the Wendells or Vondels--he was of Dutch descent.