{"id":169233,"url":"https://www.kudos365.com/news/169233-drifting-poem-by-olivia-ward-bush-banks-1898","short_url":"https://www.kudos365.com/news/169233","headline":"\"Drifting\" || Poem by Olivia Ward Bush-Banks (1898)","content":"\u003cp\u003e\u003cem\u003eAnd now the sun in tinted splendor sank, \u003cbr\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp;The west was all aglow with crimson light; \u003cbr\u003eThe bay seemed like a sheet of burnished gold, \u003cbr\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp;Its waters glistened with such radiance bright. \u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eAt anchor lay the yachts with snow-white sails, \u003cbr\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp;Outlined against the glowing, rose-hued sky. \u003cbr\u003eNo ripple stirred the waters’ calm repose \u003cbr\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp;Save when a tiny craft sped lightly by. \u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eOur boat was drifting slowly, gently round, \u003cbr\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp;To rest secure till evening shadows fell; \u003cbr\u003eNo sound disturbed the stillness of the air, \u003cbr\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp;Save the soft chiming of the vesper bell. \u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eYes, drifting, drifting; and I thought that life, \u003cbr\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp;When nearing death, is like the sunset sky: \u003cbr\u003eAnd death is but the slow, sure drifting in \u003cbr\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp;To rest far more securely, by and by. \u003c/em\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eThen let me drift along the Bay of Time, \u003cbr\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp;Till my last sun shall set in glowing light; \u003cbr\u003eLet me cast anchor where no shadows fall, \u003cbr\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp;Forever moored within Heaven’s harbor bright. \u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eThis poem is in the public domain.\u003c/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e\u003cem\u003eOlivia Ward Bush-Banks\u003c/em\u003e\u003c/strong\u003e\u0026nbsp;-\u0026nbsp;née Olivia Ward; (1869 – 1944) was an American author, poet and journalist of African-American and Montaukett Native American heritage. Ward celebrated both of her heritages in her poetry and writing. She was a regular contributor to the Colored American magazine and wrote a column for the New Rochelle, New York publication, the Westchester Record-Courier. More at \u003ca href=\"http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Olivia_Ward_Bush-Banks\"\u003eWikipedia\u003c/a\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/p\u003e","content_plain":"And now the sun in tinted splendor sank,   The west was all aglow with crimson light; The bay seemed like a sheet of burnished gold,   Its waters glistened with such radiance bright. At anchor lay the yachts with snow-white sails,   Outlined against the glowing, rose-hued sky. No ripple stirred the waters’ calm repose   Save when a tiny craft sped lightly by. Our boat was drifting slowly, gently round,   To rest secure till evening shadows fell; No sound disturbed the stillness of the air,   Save the soft chiming of the vesper bell. Yes, drifting, drifting; and I thought that life,   When nearing death, is like the sunset sky: And death is but the slow, sure drifting in   To rest far more securely, by and by. Then let me drift along the Bay of Time,   Till my last sun shall set in glowing light; Let me cast anchor where no shadows fall,   Forever moored within Heaven’s harbor bright. This poem is in the public domain.Olivia Ward Bush-Banks - née Olivia Ward; (1869 – 1944) was an American author, poet and journalist of African-American and Montaukett Native American heritage. Ward celebrated both of her heritages in her poetry and writing. She was a regular contributor to the Colored American magazine and wrote a column for the New Rochelle, New York publication, the Westchester Record-Courier. More at Wikipedia","published_at":"2026-10-22T14:21:00-07:00","updated_at":"2025-11-15T23:35:06-08:00","author":{"type":"Person","name":"Poetry Alley","url":"https://www.kudos365.com/profiles/100043-poetry-alley"},"description":"Stay up-to-date with Poetry Alley on Kudos365. View their post published Oct/22/2026 on Poetry. Browse your favorite topics and share your expertise, too.","type":"post","image":"https://k365pi.imgix.net/site/square-kudos-share-image-300.jpg?fm=jpg\u0026auto=format,compress","likes_count":15,"comments_count":1,"categories":[{"name":"Poetry","url":"https://www.kudos365.com/categories/942-poetry"}],"schema":{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"CreativeWork","url":"https://www.kudos365.com/news/169233-drifting-poem-by-olivia-ward-bush-banks-1898","headline":"\"Drifting\" || Poem by Olivia Ward Bush-Banks (1898)","image":"https://k365pi.imgix.net/site/square-kudos-share-image-300.jpg?fm=jpg\u0026auto=format,compress","author":{"@type":"Person","name":"Poetry Alley","url":"https://www.kudos365.com/profiles/100043-poetry-alley"},"datePublished":"2026-10-22T14:21:00-07:00","interactionStatistic":[{"@type":"InteractionCounter","interactionType":"https://schema.org/LikeAction","userInteractionCount":15}],"subjectOf":[{"@type":"Thing","name":"Poetry","url":"https://www.kudos365.com/categories/942-poetry"}]}}