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Alfred Lord Tennyson (6 August 1809 – 6 October 1892 / Lincoln / England)
Poems by Alfred Lord Tennyson : 21 / 180
Crossing the Bar
Sunset and evening star,
And one clear call for me!
And may there be no moaning of the bar,
When I put out to sea,
But such a tide as moving seems asleep,
Too full for sound and foam,
When that which drew from out the boundless deep
Turns again home.
Twilight and evening bell,
And after that the dark!
And may there be no sadness of farewell,
When I embark;
For though from out our bourne of Time and Place
The flood may bear me far,
I hope to see my Pilot face to face
When I have crost the bar.
Alfred Lord Tennyson
Submitted: Thursday, January 01, 2004
Edited: Thursday, April 28, 2011
Read poems about / on: farewell, sunset, star, hope, home, sea, dark, time
Poems by Alfred Lord Tennyson : 21 / 180
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Our mother recited this poem from her hospital bed eight years ago. It was the last time I saw her alive. She passed a few days later at 89, a gifted woman who gave way more than she received.
Last night my sister and I recalled that day in the hospital. Couldn't remember who wrote it, so after we hung up I pulled out Bartlett's Quotations, and there it was, Tennyson's 'Crossing the Bar'. As I read it, I remembered the twinkle in Mom's eye and her smile. I called sis back and told her who and where.
It's a great poem and very special to us.
Hugh C.
This is one of the most powerful poems of all time. It was read as an eulogy for Helen Nearing, and is a tribute to the courage each of us has to face our lives with commitment for a journey none understands completely.