Summary of Walt Whitman's Prayer of Columbus
1. Surrender and Acceptance
My terminus near,
The clouds already closing in upon me,
The voyage balk’d—the course disputed, lost,
I yield my ships to Thee.
The poem opens with a sense of surrender and acceptance in the face of adversity. The speaker acknowledges the end of their journey, represented by clouds symbolizing challenges, and willingly yields their ships—representing efforts and plans—to a higher power or fate. It beautifully expresses resilience and surrender in the midst of life's uncertainties. 2. Trust in a Higher Power
Steersman unseen! henceforth the helms are Thine;
Take Thou command—(what to my petty skill Thy navigation?)
My hands, my limbs grow nerveless;
My brain feels rack’d, bewilder’d; Let the old timbers part—I will not part!
I will cling fast to Thee, O God, though the waves buffet me;
Thee, Thee, at least, I know.
The speaker acknowledges their incapacity to navigate life's journey and surrenders control to the unseen "Steers…