May 27
May 28
June 5
June 11
June 16
June 21
June 24
June 26
July 1
July 4
July 7
July 10
July 12
July 13
July 14
July 15
July 17
Poetry Gallery
|
|
83
Westward Ho!
Bow, westward, faithful steamer,
   And show the east your heels;
New conquests lie before you,
   In far Aleutian fields;
Kick high, if high you must,
   But don't do so at meals;
   But don't do so at meals!
Your swinging it is graceful,
   But I do detest your reels.
We're off for Unalaska,
   And we do not care who squeals;
Only mend your pace a little,
   And show the east your heels;
But in flirting with old Neptune,
   Oh, regard the hour of meals!
   Oh, regard the hour of meals!
I'm sure you have no notion
   How dreadful bad it feels.
Push on your way to Bering,
   And hurry to the seals;
One glance upon their harems,
   Then take unto your heels;
More steam into your boilers,
   More vigor in your wheels;
But in sporting with the billows,
   Don't forget the hour of meals!
   Don't forget the hour of meals!
If here we are exacting,
   Just remember how it feels.
We're bound for Arctic waters,
   And for the midnight sun;
So quicken your propeller,
   And your pace into a run.
Just touch on lone Siberia,
   To take a polar bear,
Then hie away through Bering Strait,
   And frigid regions dare;
But in waltzing with the sea god,
   Oh, don't forget our prayer!
There's a noble tank before us,
   And we'll do it ere we go--
We'll cut the Arctic Circle,
   And take the thing in tow,
And put it 'round the Philippines
   And cool 'em off with snow.
Our boys will hail our coming,
   But a chill will seize the foe;
And we'll end the war in triumph,
   Go you homeward, fast or slow.
John Burroughs,
Kadiak
July 2-99
|
|
|