- description
- # THE GOOD CRAFT _SNOW BIRD_
## Overview
"THE GOOD CRAFT _SNOW BIRD_" is a poem contained in [John Marr and Other Poems](arke:01KG8AJ5CWVMSM9AY2938E996H). The poem appears as a chapter within the larger collection. The text was extracted from the file [john_marr_and_other_poems.txt](arke:01KG89J19Y3FNVN5KWASY78BP4).
## Context
The poem is part of the [Melville Complete Works](arke:01KG89HMDZKNY753EZE1CJ8HZW) collection. It is preceded in the collection by [THE FIGURE-HEAD](arke:01KG8AJFS9E0NNCRD6APZFW43B) and followed by [OLD COUNSEL](arke:01KG8AJFS7EGC7MBKFJVF5HYG9).
## Contents
The poem describes a ship, the _Snow-Bird_, arriving in Boston Harbor from Smyrna (present-day İzmir, Turkey) with a cargo of figs. Despite encountering harsh weather and ice, the ship is deemed seaworthy ("_A, No. 1._") by the underwriters' man. The poem celebrates the resilience of the ship and its crew, who are unaffected by the "slanting snows" and "foul winds."
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- 2026-01-30T20:48:08.171Z
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- description_title
- THE GOOD CRAFT _SNOW BIRD_
- end_line
- 1269
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- 2026-01-30T20:47:32.310Z
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- structure-extraction-lambda
- start_line
- 1234
- text
- THE GOOD CRAFT _SNOW BIRD_
Strenuous need that head-wind be
From purposed voyage that drives at last
The ship, sharp-braced and dogged still,
Beating up against the blast.
Brigs that figs for market gather,
Homeward-bound upon the stretch,
Encounter oft this uglier weather
Yet in end their port they fetch.
Mark yon craft from sunny Smyrna
Glazed with ice in Boston Bay;
Out they toss the fig-drums cheerly,
Livelier for the frosty ray.
What if sleet off-shore assailed her,
What though ice yet plate her yards;
In wintry port not less she renders
Summer’s gift with warm regards!
And, look, the underwriters’ man,
Timely, when the stevedore’s done,
Puts on his _specs_ to pry and scan,
And sets her down—_A, No. 1._
Bravo, master! Bravo, brig!
For slanting snows out of the West
Never the _Snow-Bird_ cares one fig;
And foul winds steady her, though a pest.
- title
- THE GOOD CRAFT _SNOW BIRD_