Crossing the Bar (Tone Poems)

"I hope to see my Pilot face to face/ When I have crossed the bar."

In this poem, the speaker is talking of his death. He is most likely close to death and explaining how he feels about it. He says, "may there be no moaning of the bar" and "may there be no sadness of farewell," which implies that he does not want people to be upset when he dies. He uses an extended metaphor of drifting out into the sea as dying. The text says, "When I put out to sea." "When I embark," and "When I have crossed the bar" all representing his death. The moment of death is expressed in the first line, "Sunset and evening star." The speaker does not want his death to be a big deal for others. In the quote above, the speaker refers to "my Pilot" which I understood to be God, who he will see "face to face" in heaven. Suprisingly, this poem is not sad, even though it is about death.