12. Above the Endless Blue | Moby-Dick Act II: The Captain’s Purpose

[Verse 1]
Up where the masthead meets the thinner air,
I feel the whole wide morning gather there.
Beneath, the Pequod dwindles on the sea,
Above, the open heavens shelter me.

[Verse 2]
The ocean spreads unbroken to the rim,
Its silver distance blurs the vessel's trim.
The labour of the deck falls far below,
And in this height I let my thinking go.

[Chorus]
Above the endless blue I stand and see,
The sky descend to meet the breathing sea.
The world below grows distant from my view,
And I grow still inside the endless blue.

[Verse 3]
I should be watching sharply from my height,
For spout or sail that breaks the field of light.
Yet beauty draws my duty from my mind,
And leaves the working world of men behind.

[Verse 4]
The mast below me sways in measured time,
The sea beneath it rises like a rhyme.
Each breathing sail moves softly with the deep,
And thought grows quiet as a thing in sleep.

[Chorus]
Above the endless blue I stand and see,
The sky descend to meet the breathing sea.
The world below grows distant from my view,
And I grow still inside the endless blue.

[Verse 5]
There is a danger hidden in this peace,
For watchful thought can soften and can cease.
One world below me labours under strain,
While I drift far above its toil and pain.

[Verse 6]
But still I cannot wholly turn away,
From light that pours unbroken through the day.
For one suspended hour I seem to be,
A thought between the boundless sky and sea.

[Chorus]
Above the endless blue I stand and see,
The sky descend to meet the breathing sea.
The world below grows distant from my view,
And I grow still inside the endless blue.

[Outro]
Then voices rise and call me to my place,
I blink and feel the wind against my face.
The dream recedes, the deck returns to view,
Yet something in me stays within the blue.

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[The Scene] With the Pequod settled into life at sea, the crew have begun to reveal their different ways of enduring the voyage: Ahab broods over his private wound, Stubb meets hardship with humour, and Pip uses music to keep homesickness at bay. High above them at the masthead, Ishmael is briefly removed from all of that tension. Surrounded by nothing but sky and ocean, he becomes absorbed in the vastness around him and nearly forgets the watch he is meant to keep. The moment offers a last stretch of open wonder before Ahab brings his hidden purpose fully into the life of the ship. [Verse 1] Up where the masthead meets the thinner air, I feel the whole wide morning gather there. Beneath, the Pequod dwindles on the sea, Above, the open heavens shelter me. [Verse 2] The ocean spreads unbroken to the rim, Its silver distance blurs the vessel's trim. The labour of the deck falls far below, And in this height I let my thinking go. [Chorus] Above the endless blue I stand and see, The sky descend to meet the breathing sea. The world below grows distant from my view, And I grow still inside the endless blue. [Verse 3] I should be watching sharply from my height, For spout or sail that breaks the field of light. Yet beauty draws my duty from my mind, And leaves the working world of men behind. [Verse 4] The mast below me sways in measured time, The sea beneath it rises like a rhyme. Each breathing sail moves softly with the deep, And thought grows quiet as a thing in sleep. [Chorus] Above the endless blue I stand and see, The sky descend to meet the breathing sea. The world below grows distant from my view, And I grow still inside the endless blue. [Verse 5] There is a danger hidden in this peace, For watchful thought can soften and can cease. One world below me labours under strain, While I drift far above its toil and pain. [Verse 6] But still I cannot wholly turn away, From light that pours unbroken through the day. For one suspended hour I seem to be, A thought between the boundless sky and sea. [Chorus] Above the endless blue I stand and see, The sky descend to meet the breathing sea. The world below grows distant from my view, And I grow still inside the endless blue. [Outro] Then voices rise and call me to my place, I blink and feel the wind against my face. The dream recedes, the deck returns to view, Yet something in me stays within the blue.

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