The Pilot by Edwin Arlington Robinson
The poem addresses a departed comrade as others continue to sail out of a feared and uncertain past into starlight, discovering that the stars are true and that old ways have become new. The speakers recall having drifted, waited, wandered, and longed for the lost guidance of old shore lights, learning too late what the absent figure had known. They honor him as one who fought a harsh gale and has won beyond their understanding. Though he is gone, the far-going sailors, strangers yet brothers, continue their voyage.
By Edwin Arlington Robinson · First published 1916 · Genre: Elegy, Lyric Poetry, Memorial Poetry · 184 words
First lines
FROM the Past and Unavailing
Out of cloudland we are steering:
After groping, after fearing, / Into starlight we come trailing, / And we find the stars are true.
Still, O comrade, what of you?
What this Textopian page supports
The Pilot is listed on Textopian as a poem by Edwin Arlington Robinson, dated 1916 CE.
This source record anchors work identity, reading entry points, and catalog context for checking claims about the work.
- Work type: Poem
- Author: Edwin Arlington Robinson
- Date: 1916 CE
- Language: English
- Genres: Elegy, Lyric Poetry, Memorial Poetry, Maritime Poetry, Lament
- Length: 184 words
- Structure: 1 section, 18 paragraphs
- Reading fit: Fairly Easy (7th Grade)
Good citation fit
- Work identity for The Pilot by Edwin Arlington Robinson
- Canonical title URL and first readable passage URL
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Genres
- Elegy — The poem mourns an absent, likely deceased comrade, addressing loss, remembrance, and the continuation of life after departure.
- Lyric Poetry — It is a short, emotionally concentrated poem spoken in a collective voice, emphasizing feeling, meditation, rhythm, and imagery rather than narrative plot.
- Memorial Poetry — The speaker commemorates the departed figure as someone whose knowledge, courage, and example endure among those left behind.
- Maritime Poetry — Its central figurative language is nautical: steering, sailing, drifting, shores, seaward vision, and a sailor's struggle with a gale.
Tags
poetry · American literature · modernist poetry · narrative verse · psychological drama · introspection · isolation · fate · mortality · disillusionment · human struggle · symbolism