Who's the Captain of this Ship?

O Captain! My Captain! Our fateful tale has come to tell;

The forest of laden force rests, now time to fell;

Open up our age-old scupper let's see what flows on out;

An honest mind so far it seems, though shadows lie in doubt.

So Captain, My Captain! Whose side would you call home?

Two contra birds sit high on masts and sing at once alone:

One loud, one soft, one high, one low, one true, one false, one pedantic tone.

How many seeking birds bark on through this one incessant dome?

Now Captain, My Captain! Let it all out and cry;

For the crew that you hold shall do all but die;

They’ll quarrel at the altar, laugh in their stride;

What a beautiful time to tell the tale of this mind.

Come Captain, My Captain, look down, as you do;

Convince me, deceive me through those cold sprightly tunes;

For now I can hear them and know when they’re near;

I won’t sink nor rise on this ship we hold dear.

Such a balanced fable of this captain one tells;

But oh, how he falters in cavernous swells;

So come now, boy, dance in the storm!

For it too shall pass, and you’ll be sailing once more.