Matthew Henson

No rift in the unthawing ice The sled took dark matter over crystals of snow Here the water's thin bonds sufficed And the one who led was the one who should know There was no glory in the game For him, a southern heart seeking a northern pole Of stars when his heart was aflame For the warm rhythms of drums called him for a role Beyond the ken of history Where his firsts are ancient as the Nile, wrapped in night Filled with stars of antiquity Old, so old, the magi had never seen their light. Today we know where ships must seek Without the theodolite of desert sands Time replaced the proud with the meek God guides the world with his great inerrant hands Now the servant throned in silence Is unmasked to his regal heritage, and brought Maryland's son his prominence Since first Peary's eyes in his wisdom's net was caught Like a schooner around the globe This freedman's soul brought home cargoes none knew before For something in his blood's wide robe Could not resist those paths ancient Ghana explored