Ye wild-eyed Muses, sing the Twins of Jove, <br />Whom the fair-ankled Leda, mixed in love <br />With mighty Saturn’s Heaven-obscuring Child, <br />On Taygetus, that lofty mountain wild, <br />Brought forth in joy: mild Pollux, void of blame, <br />And steed-subduing Castor, heirs of fame. <br />These are the Powers who earth-born mortals save <br />And ships, whose flight is swift along the wave. <br />When wintry tempests o’er the savage sea <br />Are raging, and the sailors tremblingly <br />Call on the Twins of Jove with prayer and vow, <br />Gathered in fear upon the lofty prow, <br />And sacrifice with snow-white lambs,--the wind <br />And the huge billow bursting close behind, <br />Even then beneath the weltering waters bear <br />The staggering ship--they suddenly appear, <br />On yellow wings rushing athwart the sky, <br />And lull the blasts in mute tranquillity, <br />And strew the waves on the white Ocean’s bed, <br />Fair omen of the voyage; from toil and dread <br />The sailors rest, rejoicing in the sight, <br />And plough the quiet sea in safe delight.<br /><br />Percy Bysshe Shelley<br /><br />http://www.poemhunter.com/poem/homer-s-hymn-to-castor-and-pollux/
