The Pilot in the Mist
Steaming the northern rapids--(an old St. Lawrence reminiscence,A sudden memory-flash comes back, I know not why,Here waiting for the sunrise, gazing from this hill;)Again ’tis just at morning--a heavy haze contends with daybreak,Again the trembling, laboring vessel veers me--I press throughfoam-dash’d rocks that almost touch me,Again I mark where aft the small thin Indian helmsmanLooms in the mist, with brow elate and governing hand.
Had I the choice to tally greatest bards,To limn their portraits, stately, beautiful, and emulate at will,Homer with all his wars and warriors--Hector, Achilles, Ajax,Or Shakspere’s woe-entangled Hamlet, Lear, Othello--Tennyson’s fair ladies,Metre or wit the best, or choice conceit to wield in perfect rhyme,delight of singers;These, these, O sea, all these I’d gladly barter,Would you the undulation of one wave, its trick to me transfer,Or breathe one breath of yours upon my verse,And leave its odor there.
You tides with ceaseless swell! you power that does this work!You unseen force, centripetal, centrifugal, through space’s spread,Rapport of sun, moon, earth, and all the constellations,What are the messages by you from distant stars to us? what Sirius’?what Capella’s?What central heart--and you the pulse--vivifies all? what boundlessaggregate of all?What subtle indirection and significance in you? what clue to all inyou? what fluid, vast identity,Holding the universe with all its parts as one--as sailing in a ship?
Last of ebb, and daylight waning,Scented sea-cool landward making, smells of sedge and salt incoming,With many a half-caught voice sent up from the eddies,Many a muffled confession--many a sob and whisper’d word,As of speakers far or hid.
How they sweep down and out! how they mutter!Poets unnamed--artists greatest of any, with cherish’d lost designs,Love’s unresponse--a chorus of age’s complaints--hope’s last words,Some suicide’s despairing cry, Away to the boundless waste, andnever again return.
On to oblivion then!On, on, and do your part, ye burying, ebbing tide!On for your time, ye furious debouche!
Words in this poem 22
- reminiscence n.
- The act or power of recalling past experience; the state of being reminiscent; remembrance; memory. [F. réminiscence, L. reminiscentia.]
- daybreak n.
- The time of the first appearance of light in the morning.
- laboring a.
- That labors; performing labor; esp., performing coarse, heavy work, not requiring skill also, set apart for labor; as, laboring days.
- elate a.
- Lifted up; raised; elevated. [L. elatus elevated, fig., elated, proud (the figure, perh., being borrowed from a prancing horse); e out + latus (used as p. p. of ferre to bear), for tlatus, a]
- limn v. t.
- To draw or paint; especially, to represent in an artistic way with pencil or brush. [OE. limnen, fr. luminen, for enluminen, F. enluminer to illuminate, to limn, LL. illuminare to paint. Illuminate, Luminous.]
- lear v. t.
- To learn. See Lere, to learn.
- wield v. t.
- To govern; to rule; to keep, or have in charge; also, to possess. [OE. welden to govern, to have power over, to possess, AS. geweldan, gewyldan, from wealdan; akin to OS. waldan, OFries. walda, G. walten, OHG. waltan, Icel. val]
- gladly adv.
- Preferably; by choice. [From Glad, a.]
- undulation n.
- The act of undulating; a waving motion or vibration; as, the undulations of a fluid, of water, or of air; the undulations of sound. [Cf. F. ondulation.]
- ceaseless a.
- Without pause or end; incessant.
- unseen a.
- Not seen or discovered.
- centripetal a.
- Tending, or causing, to approach the center. [L. centrum center + peter to more toward.]
- rapport n.
- Relation; proportion; conformity; correspondence; accord. [F., fr. rapporter to bring again or back, to refer; pref. re- re- + apporter to bring, L. apporter to bring, L. apportare. Cf. Report.]
- sirius n.
- The Dog Star. See Dog Star.
- indirection n.
- Oblique course or means; dishonest practices; indirectness. [Cf. F. indirection.]
- clue n.
- A ball of thread, yarn, or cord; also, The thread itself. [OE. clewe, clowe, clue, AS. cleowen, cliwen, clywe ball of thread; akin to D. kluwen, OHG. chliwa, chliuwa, G. dim. kleuel, knäuel, and perch. to L. gluma hull,]
- daylight n.
- The light of day as opposed to the darkness of night; the light of the sun, as opposed to that of the moon or to artificial light.
- waning n.
- The act or process of waning, or decreasing.
- landward adv.
- Toward the land.
- incoming a.
- Coming in; accruing.
- despairing a.
- Feeling or expressing despair; hopeless.
- oblivion n.
- The act of forgetting, or the state of being forgotten; cessation of remembrance; forgetfulness. [L. oblivio, akin to oblivisci to forget: cf. OF. oblivion.]
Definitions and etymologies from Webster's Unabridged Dictionary, 1913.
About this text
The Pilot in the Mist is in the public domain. This text is taken from Leaves of Grass, Project Gutenberg ebook #1322; the transcription's header, footer and licence were removed and nothing else was changed. You may copy, print and reuse it freely.
Cite as: Walt Whitman, The Pilot in the Mist, in Leaves of Grass (1855–1892), text of Project Gutenberg ebook #1322, Laurel, https://laurelpoetry.com/poem/whitman-leaves/the-pilot-in-the-mist.html, id L04088.
Form and metre
The Pilot in the Mist is 41 lines in 6 verse paragraphs. It is unrhymed, as far as the pronouncing dictionary can tell. 82% of its stressed syllables fall where the metre puts the beat. The lines average 12.6 syllables. 13 lines end on an unstressed syllable, a feminine ending. 12% of the lines run on without a stop at the line end.
Measured by Laurel's pipeline, not copied from a handbook: how stress and metre are counted, how rhyme is lettered, how a drifted rhyme is found. Where the dictionary cannot confirm a rhyme the letter is withheld, not guessed.
Rhyme words, stanza by stanza
The word that ends each line, lettered by the rhyme it makes; a dash is a line whose rhyme the dictionary could not confirm.
- 1 -A---A-- reminiscence · whyA · hill · daybreak · through · meA · helmsman · hand
Scansion, line by line
Each line with its syllable count and the stresses the words themselves fix: / stressed, ˘ unstressed, · a syllable the word leaves free and the metre decides. How this is done.
| Line | Syl. | Stress |
|---|---|---|
| Steaming the northern rapids--(an old St. Lawrence reminiscence, | 16 | /˘·/˘/˘···/˘·˘/˘ |
| A sudden memory-flash comes back, I know not why, | 13 | ·/˘/˘˘······· |
| Here waiting for the sunrise, gazing from this hill;) | 12 | ·/˘··/·/˘··· |
| Again ’tis just at morning--a heavy haze contends with daybreak, | 16 | ˘/···/˘·/˘·˘/·/· |
| Again the trembling, laboring vessel veers me--I press through | 16 | ˘/·/˘˘/˘˘/˘····· |
| foam-dash’d rocks that almost touch me, | 8 | ····/··· |
| Again I mark where aft the small thin Indian helmsman | 14 | ˘/·······/˘˘/· |
| Looms in the mist, with brow elate and governing hand. | 13 | ······˘/·/˘˘· |
| Had I the choice to tally greatest bards, | 10 | ·····/˘/˘· |
| To limn their portraits, stately, beautiful, and emulate at will, | 16 | ···/˘/˘/˘˘·/˘··· |
| Homer with all his wars and warriors--Hector, Achilles, Ajax, | 17 | /˘·····/˘˘/˘˘/˘/· |
| Or Shakspere’s woe-entangled Hamlet, Lear, Othello--Tennyson’s fair ladies, | 19 | ····˘/˘/˘·˘/˘/˘˘·/˘ |
| Metre or wit the best, or choice conceit to wield in perfect rhyme, | 16 | /˘······˘/···˘/· |
| delight of singers; | 5 | ˘/·/˘ |
| These, these, O sea, all these I’d gladly barter, | 11 | ·······/˘/˘ |
| Would you the undulation of one wave, its trick to me transfer, | 16 | ··············˘/ |
| Or breathe one breath of yours upon my verse, | 10 | ·········· |
| And leave its odor there. | 6 | ···/˘· |
| You tides with ceaseless swell! you power that does this work! | 13 | ···/˘··/˘···· |
| You unseen force, centripetal, centrifugal, through space’s spread, | 16 | ·˘/·˘/˘˘˘/˘˘·/˘· |
| Rapport of sun, moon, earth, and all the constellations, | 13 | ˘/········˘/˘ |
| What are the messages by you from distant stars to us? what Sirius’? | 18 | ···/˘˘···/˘····/˘˘ |
| what Capella’s? | 4 | ·˘/˘ |
| What central heart--and you the pulse--vivifies all? what boundless | 14 | ·/˘·········/˘ |
| aggregate of all? | 5 | /˘˘·· |
| What subtle indirection and significance in you? what clue to all in | 19 | ·/˘·····˘/˘˘······· |
| you? what fluid, vast identity, | 9 | ··/˘·˘/˘˘ |
| Holding the universe with all its parts as one--as sailing in a ship? | 18 | /˘·/˘········/˘··· |
| Last of ebb, and daylight waning, | 8 | ····/·/˘ |
| Scented sea-cool landward making, smells of sedge and salt incoming, | 16 | /˘··/˘/˘·····/·˘ |
| With many a half-caught voice sent up from the eddies, | 13 | ·/˘········/˘ |
| Many a muffled confession--many a sob and whisper’d word, | 16 | /˘·/˘˘/˘/˘···/˘· |
| As of speakers far or hid. | 7 | ··/˘··· |
| How they sweep down and out! how they mutter! | 10 | ········/˘ |
| Poets unnamed--artists greatest of any, with cherish’d lost designs, | 17 | /˘˘//˘/˘·/˘·/˘·˘/ |
| Love’s unresponse--a chorus of age’s complaints--hope’s last words, | 15 | ·····/˘·/˘˘/··· |
| Some suicide’s despairing cry, Away to the boundless waste, and | 16 | ·/˘·˘/˘·˘/··/˘·· |
| never again return. | 6 | /˘˘/˘/ |
| On to oblivion then! | 7 | ··˘/˘˘· |
| On, on, and do your part, ye burying, ebbing tide! | 13 | ·······/˘˘/˘· |
| On for your time, ye furious debouche! | 10 | ·····/˘˘·· |
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