Alfred Lord Tennyson’s iconic poem Ulysses is a monologue spoken by the man himself, in his old age, and looking backward to his days of triumph in Troy. He finds himself decrying his age and lack of purpose.

I cannot rest from travel: I will drink
Life to the lees:

Perhaps even more for a man such as Ulysses who has achieved so much in his life, the idea of being subjected to the ineptitude of old age is galling. He feels he still has things to offer and that he can still accomplish something of worth. And, why should it not be so?

Old age hath yet his honour and his toil;
Death closes all: but something ere the end,
Some work of noble note, may yet be done,
Not unbecoming men that strove with Gods.

And, so he determines to move forward, not to lie down and die before his time, to live until the absolute end, the last breath, and perhaps beyond.

Push off, and sitting well in order smite
The sounding furrows; for my purpose holds
To sail beyond the sunset, and the baths
Of all the western stars, until I die.

The final stanza is one of hope and resolve. As a person who is beginning to feel age and its limits, it is an encouraging thought that one might continue to matter if “strong in will”

Tho' much is taken, much abides; and tho'
We are not now that strength which in old days
Moved earth and heaven, that which we are, we are;
One equal temper of heroic hearts,
Made weak by time and fate, but strong in will
To strive, to seek, to find, and not to yield.

A remarkable poem and one in which I find both meaning and solace.

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Did Ulysses live happily ever after with Penelope after his travels? This poem, a favorite of mine, is one answer to that question. ( )