- description
- # At the Cannon’s Mouth.
## Overview - What this is (type, form, dates, scope)
"At the Cannon's Mouth." is a poem by Herman Melville, presented as a segment extracted from the larger collection, [Battle-Pieces and Aspects of the War.](arke:01KG8AJ6FNQ0XKWBY52P8DRPC9) This segment, identified as a poem, consists of lines 2589-2630 of the source text file. The poem is part of the [Melville Complete Works](arke:01KG89HMDZKNY753EZE1CJ8HZW) collection and was extracted on January 30, 2026.
## Context - Background and provenance from related entities
This poem is part of Melville's collection of Civil War poetry, "Battle-Pieces and Aspects of the War," which is included in the larger "Melville Complete Works" collection. The poem is extracted from the text file "battle_pieces_and_aspects_of_the_war.txt". The poem is preceded by [A Dirge for McPherson,[13]](arke:01KG8AJNC7X2JAS04XFX884GMV) and followed by [The March to the Sea.](arke:01KG8AJNCE7PVRVVQ30YDZ2BQ3)
## Contents - What it contains, key subjects and details
"At the Cannon's Mouth." focuses on the destruction of the Confederate ship "Ram Albermarle" by a torpedo launch in October 1864. The poem reflects on the act of bravery and sacrifice, questioning the value of life in the face of such actions. It explores themes of heroism, death, and the allure of life, contrasting the "martyr-passion" with the "Paradise of opening joy." The poem also references the actions of Cushing, suggesting a spirit of defiance and a willingness to risk death.
- description_generated_at
- 2026-01-30T20:48:29.653Z
- description_model
- gemini-2.5-flash-lite
- description_title
- At the Cannon’s Mouth.
- end_line
- 2630
- extracted_at
- 2026-01-30T20:47:35.910Z
- extracted_by
- structure-extraction-lambda
- start_line
- 2589
- text
- At the Cannon’s Mouth.
Destruction of the Ram Albermarle by the Torpedo-Launch.
(October, 1864.)
Palely intent, he urged his keel
Full on the guns, and touched the spring;
Himself involved in the bolt he drove
Timed with the armed hull’s shot that stove
His shallop--die or do!
Into the flood his life he threw,
Yet lives--unscathed--a breathing thing
To marvel at.
He has his fame;
But that mad dash at death, how name?
Had Earth no charm to stay the Boy
From the martyr-passion? Could he dare
Disdain the Paradise of opening joy
Which beckons the fresh heart every where?
Life has more lures than any girl
For youth and strength; puts forth a share
Of beauty, hinting of yet rarer store;
And ever with unfathomable eyes,
Which baffingly entice,
Still strangely does Adonis draw.
And life once over, who shall tell the rest?
Life is, of all we know, God’s best.
What imps these eagles then, that they
Fling disrespect on life by that proud way
In which they soar above our lower clay.
Pretense of wonderment and doubt unblest:
In Cushing’s eager deed was shown
A spirit which brave poets own--
That scorn of life which earns life’s crown;
Earns, but not always wins; but he--
The star ascended in his nativity.
- title
- At the Cannon’s Mouth.