by Robert Louis Stevenson (1850 – 1894)

Man sails the deep awhile;
Loud runs the roaring tide;
The seas are wild and wide;
O’er many a salt, o’er many a desert mile,
The unchained breakers ride,
The quivering stars beguile.

Hope bears the sole command;
Hope, with unshaken eyes,
Sees flaw and storm arise;
Hope, the good steersman, with unwearying hand,
Steers, under changing skies,
Unchanged toward the land.

O wind that bravely blows!
O hope that sails with all
Where stars and voices call!
O ship undaunted that forever goes
Where God, her admiral,
His battle signal shows!

What though the seas and wind
Far on the deep should whelm
Colours and sails and helm?
There, too, you touch that port that you designed –
There, in the mid-seas’ realm,
Shall you that haven find.

Some interesting commentary on Stevenson can be found on the website by RCAHMS (Royal Commission on the Ancient and Historical Monuments of Scotland), in reference to Barra Head Lighthouse:

Although Robert Louis Stevenson had to fight hard to be allowed to express his literary talent instead of following in the footsteps of his grandfather, uncles and father, he appreciated their achievements. In 1880 he wrote:

‘Whenever I smell salt water, I know that I am not far from one of the works of my ancestors. The Bell Rock stands monument for my grandfather, the Skerry Vore for my Uncle Alan and when the lights come out at sundown along the shores of Scotland, I am proud to think they burn brightly for the genius of my father.’