The Polar Quest

UNCONQUERABLY, men venture on the quest  
 And seek an ocean amplitude unsailed,  
Cold, virgin, awful. Scorning ease and rest,  
 And heedless of the heroes who have failed,  
They face the ice floes with a dauntless zest.
 
The polar quest! Life’s offer to the strong!  
 To pass beyond the pale, to do and dare,  
Leaving a name that stirs us like a song.  
 And making captive some strange Otherwhere,  
Though grim the conquest, and the labor long.
 
Forever courage kindles, faith moves forth  
To find the mystic floodway of the North.