'To all that love the far and blue'

To all that love the far and blue:
Whether, from dawn to eve, on foot
The fleeing corners ye pursue,
Nor weary of the vain pursuit;
Or whether down the singing stream,
Paddle in hand, jocund ye shoot,
To splash beside the splashing bream
Or anchor by the willow root:

Or, bolder, from the narrow shore
Put forth, that cedar ark to steer,
Among the seabirds and the roar
Of the great sea, profound and clear;
Or, lastly if in heart ye roam,
Not caring to do else, and hear,
Safe sitting by the fire at home,
Footfalls in Utah or Pamere:

Though long the way, though hard to bear
The sun and rain, the dust and dew;
Though still attainment and despair
Inter the old, despoil the new;
There shall at length, be sure, O friends,
Howe'er ye steer, whate'er ye do -
At length, and at the end of ends,
The golden city come in view.

My favourite thing about this poem is its evocative first line - Robert Louis Stevenson did write wonderful opening lines, as a quick perusal of this list will demonstrate!  I think it would be fair to say that this poem is in his most 'rare and fair romantic strain' (on which see 'In Praise of Story').  The last verse reminds me quite a bit of John Masefield's poem 'The Seekers', which also features a golden city and 'sun and rain, dust and dew' - but this poem is certain where Masefield's is only hopeful.  (Wikipedia tells me that Masefield was a admirer of Stevenson, so perhaps this is a case of direct influence, conscious or unconscious; exploration via Google could not provide me with exact dates for the publication of either poem).

Oh, and I don't know if I have any readers in Utah, but if so, I hope you appreciate it being namechecked here as an archetypal distant, exotic place...