TENNYSON'S FAREWELL

CROSSING THE BAR

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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,

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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.

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Twilight and evening bell,
And after that the dark!
And may there be no sadness of farewell,
When I embark;

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For through 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 crossed the bar.

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Alfred Lord Tennyson

This poem grew from one of Tennyson's experiences while waiting for a boat to cross the Solent to his home on the Isle of Wight. Tennyson directed that this poem should always be placed last in any collection of his work. A musical setting was sung at his funeral at Westminster Abbey in 1892 and is still found in some hymnals. The illustration here, "Crossing the Bar," was published in Punch on 15 October 1892, nine days after Tennyson's death.