Our ship was caught in jaws of ice,
That closed on it, held it as in a vice,
Ice was around us mountains high
Its dazzling spear points pierced the sky,
In every shape of vast and wild,
Heaps upon heaps were tossed and hurled,
Mountain on mountain roughly piled,
The chaos of an icy world
It was a ghastly, beautiful sight,
The rosy flush of the Northern Light,
Lances of splendour shot through the sky
And blood-red banners were waved on high,
Creatures of light darted to and fro,
Dancing in mockery of our woe,
Unrolling with their luminous hands
Belts of glory, and quivering bands
Of heaving, pulsing, transparent green,
Throwing out light in shimmering waves,
That spread into a tremulous sea
Of wavering glowing brilliancy,
Clothing the heavens in delicate sheen,
From which darts, and arrows, and tongues of fire
Glancing in splendour higher and higher
Wove themselves into a glorious crown,
Letting bright streamers hang wavering down,
Until brilliant sea and crown of beams
Faded to mist like fairy dreams
Vanishing all away, away,
Away behind ice wall and icy caves,
Leaving us in the moonlight grey,
Pale skeletons sitting by frozen graves
We in our misery cared not,
For splendours that mocked our wretched lot,
We were locked in a place by God forgot
He did not care
For sigh or prayer,
For He never answered to help or bless,
But death and fell sickness and loathsomeness
Of disease that cometh from extreme cold,
Joined to cow the hearts of the brave and bold,
The provisions rotted within the hold,
And the worm eaten bread was foul to use.
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