Part 1
In the opening segment of the poem, the speaker celebrates the great achievements of the present: the building of the Suez Canal, the laying of the Atlantic cable, and the completion of the transcontinental railroad.
But he also pays tribute to the past, “For what is the present after all but a growth out of the past?” But for the past, the wondrous present would not be what it is; thus, he offers a hearty salute to the “The Past! the Past! the Past!”
Part 2
The first verse paragraph of Part 2 exclaims and commands his passage to India to elucidate the Asian myths and fables.
He then explains that it is not merely modern science that informs and delights the soul, but also myths and fables from the around the world. And he is especially enthralled by world religions, “The deep diving bibles and legends.”
Next, he celebrates the fact that India was the first land to find the pathway to God. Then he praises the adventurous spirit that spans the earth and connects the peoples.
Finally, he especially pays homage to all those adventurers for making their journeys not merely for material purposes but also for spiritual enlightenment.
Part 3
The speaker celebrates the opening of the Suez Canal, and then turns to the Pacific railroad, for which he marvels at its ability to tie the two coasts together. He also alludes to Christopher Columbus: “Ah Genoese thy dream! thy dream! / Centuries after thou art laid in thy grave, / The shore thou foundest verifies thy dream.” Columbus’ purpose was gloriously fulfilled by the country he discovered.
Parts 4 and 5
The speaker alludes to the many voyages, including that of Vasco de Gama, to the New Word which resulted in his native land’s opulence: “thou born America, / For purpose vast, man's long probation fill'd.”
He then speaks cosmically of the vastness of the earth and predicts that a poet will be instrumental in linking all the cultures.
Parts 6, 7, 8, and 9
The speaker reveals that he sees the passage to India as the event to aid in the melding of “land, geographies,” and it is “dancing before you, hold[ing] a festival garland/ As brides and bridegrooms hand in hand.” He and his soul will take a voyage to India: “Caroling free, singing our song of God, / Chanting our chant of pleasant exploration.”
But the speaker transcends the physical earth and insists that his journey is not merely to a geographical place called India; his journey is a mystical one: “For we are bound where mariner has not yet dared to go, / And we will risk the ship, ourselves and all.” Therefore, he will “farther, farther, farther sail!”
