The Golden Journey to Samarkand

We are the Pilgrims, master; We shall go always a Little farther; It may be that we shall touch the Happy Isles And see the great Achilles, Whose name we know, And love as well.

We will explore the world of men, The world of disbelief, Where only shadows play, And we know agelessness; A little farther, And we will move to discover, A little farther yet, Into the heart of nature itself.

So we shall pack our earthly goods, And journey on, We with the wandering wheels, Through all and every magic land, Until we find our way, In the shape of sun and shadow, It may be that we shall learn to love What lies beyond our mortal toil.

So master, we will set a course, And look beyond the present day, And though the journey stretches long And maybe fraught with fears, With hope, and Mark of God, We will take what we can grasp— The skies, both blue and gray, And all the ancient lands.

The world is full of shadows, And lessons set before the heart, We will go always a little farther. To find the wealth immense, To travel forth, This choice awaits our traveling folk.

Thus, we now embark, In faith, in heart, in song; And our fancies will take flight, Just to touch the distant star.

• James Elroy Flecker