This is a poem that was written by Elizabeth Clark Hardy, and was read at the memorial service for President Woodrow Wilson.
I found among my father-in-law’s papers – Robert Holden – he was the Dean of Students at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.
When my first wife (Marcia) died in 2005, this poem gave me a lot of comfort.
I hope that when you read it – you read it slowly and think about those you love who have sailed away.
~ Charlie
The Unknown Shore
Elizabeth Clark Hardy
Sometime at eve when the tide is low,
I shall slip my moorings and sail away.
With no response to a friendly hail,
In the silent hush of the twilight pale,
When the night stoops down to embrace the day
And the voices call in the water’s flow.
Sometime at eve when the tide is low,
I shall slip my moorings and sail away.
Through purple shadows that darkly trail
O’er the ebbing tide of the unknown sea,
And a ripple of waters to tell the tale
Of a lonely voyager, sailing away
To mystic isles, where at anchor lay
The craft of those who had sailed before
O’er the unknown sea to the unknown shore.
A few who have watched me sail
Will miss my craft from the busy bay.
Some friendly barques were anchored near,
Some loving souls that my heart held dear
In silent sorrow will drop a tear.
But I shall have peacefully furled my sail
In mooring sheltered from the storm and gale,
And greeted friends who had sailed before
O’er the unknown sea to the unknown shore.