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GRAIL...
HIS BAND
kind
PE
Thanbad
Crusaders of the Sepulchre,
Thile
These
men live? Are the great
bard all dumb?
Here has a vision to shake the blood of
Song,
And make Fame's watchman tremble at
his post.
What shall prevail against the spirit of
man,
When cold, the lean and snarling wolf of
hunger,
The threatening spear of ice-mailed Soli-
tude,
Silence, and space, and ghostly footed
Fear
Prevail not? Dante, in his frozen hell,
Shivering, endured no bleakness like the
void
These men have warmed with their own
flaming will,
And peopled with their dreams. The wind
from fierce
Arcturus in their faces, at their backs
The whip of the world's doubt, and in
their souls
Courage to die-if death shall be the price
Of that cold cup that shall assuage their
thirst,
They climb, and fall, and stagger toward
the goal.
They lay themselves the road whereby
they travel,
And sue God for a franchise. Does He
watch
Behind the lattice of the boreal lights?
In that Grail-chapel of their stern-vowed
quest,
Ninety of God's long paces toward the
North,
Will they behold the splendor of His face?
To conquer the world must man renounce
the world?
These have renounced it. Had ye only
faith
Ye might move mountains, said the Naz-
arene.
Why, these have faith to move the zones
of man
Out to the point where All and Nothing
meet.
They catch the bit of Death between their
teeth
In one wild dash to trample the unknown
And leap the gates of knowledge. They
have dared
Even to defy the sentinel that guards
The doors of the forbidden-dared to hur]
Their breathing bodies after the Ideal,
That like the Heavenly Kingdom must be
taken
Only by violence. The star that leads
The leader of this quest has held the
world
True to its orbit for a million years.
And shall he fail? They never fail who
light
Their lamp of faith at the unwavering
flame
Burnt for the altar service of the Race
Since the beginning. He shall find the
strange-
The white immaculate Virgin of the
North,
Whose steady gaze no mortal ever dared,
Whose icy hand no human ever grasped.
In the dread silence and the solitude
She waits and listens through the cen-
turies
For one indomitable, destined soul,
Born to endure the glory of her eyes,
And lift his warm lips to the frozen Grail.
ELSA BARKER.
Westwood, Mass.
Document source description
This file contains poems, articles, and letters relating to polar explorers Robert Peary, Ernest Shackleton, and Frederick Cook, and their expeditions.
Page data
- Page
- 13
- Source index
- 0
- Type
- photo
- Media ID
- a4edfbb72732b9c3
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- unknown
Document data
- ID
- 518259876
- Core
- doc
- Type
- document
DTO data
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Context sent to Scholar
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Page context
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"ocrText": "GRAIL...\nHIS BAND\nkind\nPE\nThanbad\nCrusaders of the Sepulchre,\nThile\nThese\nmen live? Are the great\nbard all dumb?\nHere has a vision to shake the blood of\nSong,\nAnd make Fame's watchman tremble at\nhis post.\nWhat shall prevail against the spirit of\nman,\nWhen cold, the lean and snarling wolf of\nhunger,\nThe threatening spear of ice-mailed Soli-\ntude,\nSilence, and space, and ghostly footed\nFear\nPrevail not? Dante, in his frozen hell,\nShivering, endured no bleakness like the\nvoid\nThese men have warmed with their own\nflaming will,\nAnd peopled with their dreams. The wind\nfrom fierce\nArcturus in their faces, at their backs\nThe whip of the world's doubt, and in\ntheir souls\nCourage to die-if death shall be the price\nOf that cold cup that shall assuage their\nthirst,\nThey climb, and fall, and stagger toward\nthe goal.\nThey lay themselves the road whereby\nthey travel,\nAnd sue God for a franchise. Does He\nwatch\nBehind the lattice of the boreal lights?\nIn that Grail-chapel of their stern-vowed\nquest,\nNinety of God's long paces toward the\nNorth,\nWill they behold the splendor of His face?\nTo conquer the world must man renounce\nthe world?\nThese have renounced it. Had ye only\nfaith\nYe might move mountains, said the Naz-\narene.\nWhy, these have faith to move the zones\nof man\nOut to the point where All and Nothing\nmeet.\nThey catch the bit of Death between their\nteeth\nIn one wild dash to trample the unknown\nAnd leap the gates of knowledge. They\nhave dared\nEven to defy the sentinel that guards\nThe doors of the forbidden-dared to hur]\nTheir breathing bodies after the Ideal,\nThat like the Heavenly Kingdom must be\ntaken\nOnly by violence. The star that leads\nThe leader of this quest has held the\nworld\nTrue to its orbit for a million years.\nAnd shall he fail? They never fail who\nlight\nTheir lamp of faith at the unwavering\nflame\nBurnt for the altar service of the Race\nSince the beginning. He shall find the\nstrange-\nThe white immaculate Virgin of the\nNorth,\nWhose steady gaze no mortal ever dared,\nWhose icy hand no human ever grasped.\nIn the dread silence and the solitude\nShe waits and listens through the cen-\nturies\nFor one indomitable, destined soul,\nBorn to endure the glory of her eyes,\nAnd lift his warm lips to the frozen Grail.\nELSA BARKER.\nWestwood, Mass."
}