The Walt Whitman Archive
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About this Item
Title: Old Age's Ship and Crafty Death's
Creator: Walt Whitman
Date: February 1890
Whitman Archive ID: per.00011
Source: Century Illustrated Monthly Magazine 40 (February 1890): 553. Our transcription is based on a digital image of a microfilm copy of an original issue. For a description of the editorial rationale behind our treatment of the periodical poems, see our statement of editorial policy.
Contributors to digital file: Elizabeth Lorang, April Lambert, Heather Morton, Leslie Ianno, Ramon Guerra, and Susan Belasco
 image 1 |  cropped image 1 |
OLD AGE'S SHIP AND CRAFTY DEATH'S.1
FROM east and west across the horizon's edge,
Two mighty masterful vessels, sailers, steal upon us:
But we'll make race a-time upon the seas—a battle-contest yet! bear lively there!
(Our joys of strife and derring-do to the last!)
Put on the old ship all her power to-day!
Crowd extra top-gallants and royal studding-sails!
Out challenge and defiance—flags and flaunting pennants added,
As we take to the open—take to the deepest, freest waters.
Walt Whitman.