In 1492 (Columbus Sailed the Ocean Blue) Poem

The actual name of this poem is ‘In 1492”. Interestingly, Columbus Day is celebrated in the United States of America on the 13th of October, where this poem is mostly recited. This helps the young children to learn the history of Cristopher Columbus. This poem was written by Jean Marzollo.

This is one of the best Christopher Columbus poems for kindergarten out there. In fact, it is an English poem for kids that helps them to understand the works of Columbus the great. Further, in this poem, we will talk about Christopher Columbus's poem summary, theme, and moral. 

In 1492 (Columbus Sailed the Ocean Blue) Poem Lyrics

“In fourteen hundred ninety-two

Columbus sailed the ocean blue”

“He had three ships and left from Spain;

He sailed through sunshine, wind and rain.”

“He sailed by night; he sailed by day; 

He used the stars to find his way”.

“A compass also helped him know

How to find the way to go”

“Ninety sailors were on board;

 Some men worked while other snored.”

“Then the workers went to sleep;

And other watched the ocean deep.”

“Day after day they looked for land;

They dreamed of trees and rocks and sand.”

“October 12 their dream came true, 

You never saw a happier crew!”

“Indians! Indians! Columbus cried;

His heart was filled with joyful pride.”

“But “India” the land was not;

It was the Bahamas, and it was hot.”

“The Arakawa natives were very nice;

They gave the sailors food and spice.”

“Columbus sailed on to find some gold

To bring back home, as he’d been told.”

“He made the trip again and again,

Trading gold to bring to Spain.”

“The first American? No, not quite.

But Columbus was brave, and he was bright.”

In 1492 (Columbus Sailed the Ocean Blue) Poem Theme and Meaning

This is a poem that is written about the idealised vision of American history. It was during that phase when the world thought Columbus discovered India. The rhyming pattern of this poem is in AABBCC format. A further explanation of the poem is given below.

Lines 1-2:

In the first two lines, we can see the speaker speaking of Columbus sailing to the ocean. Unfortunately, he is not sure where he is going for exploration. The important part here is all of these are happening in the year 1492. 

Lines 3-4:

We can see that Columbus is sailing to the ocean with three ships. His journey has begun in Spain.

Three Ships 

Lines 5-6:

Columbus started sailing all day and night long, days, and months. With no navigation system, he used the bright stars for his destination. This also proves that Columbus might have lost while sailing and with no option, he used the star as his navigation system. 

Lines 7-8:

Interestingly, Columbus did have a compass for direction but, that could not give an accurate understanding to him. Still, we can see that Columbus used the compass and it helped him know his way forward. 

Lines 9-10:

In these lines, the speaker tells us how many people were on those three ships. There were ninety sailors sailing with Columbus. Now, some sailors were working on the way forward and some were so tired that they were fast asleep. 

Lines 11-12:

In these lines, the working sailors had gone to sleep after working for a long time. The sleeping sailors had to wake up for their shift and watch the deep ocean while working. This also proves that all sailors did not work together instead they worked on a shift basis. 

Lines 13-14:

All the sailors including Columbus were only searching for land ahead of them. Their passion for land rose so much that they all started dreaming of trees, rocks, and sand. 

Lines 15-16:

After sailing for months, finally, on October 12 their dream came true. All the sailors on all three boats saw something that changed their sad faces. 

Lines 17-18:

All the sailors saw land before them and Columbus was the first to call it India. Columbus thought he came to the enchanted land of India and was very happy. He thought his journey was the most joyful ride ever in his life. But, that changed in the next few lines.

Lines 19-20:

Unfortunately, that was not the land of India. It was the land of the Bahamas where the Bahamas people were seen. Additionally, the weather was quite hot there.

Columbus and Sailors in Bahamas

Lines 21-22:

In the lands of the Bahamas, we find the Arakawa natives who were very nice to Columbus and his team. These people gave food and spice to Columbus and all the sailors that came with him. 

Lines 23-24:

Unfortunately, the spice was not what Columbus was looking for. He sailed to different lands around the world for gold which he had to take back to his country. 

Lines 25-26:

In these lines, we understand that Columbus never got any gold from any of his explorations. He made as many trips as possible from his country to another but was not successful. 

Lines 27-28:

The last lines of the poem reveal he was not the first American to think of this idea, there were many. Unfortunately, all of them failed but Columbus is portrayed as brave in the end. 

In 1492 (Columbus Sailed the Ocean Blue) Poem Summary 

Through this article, we learnt about the Indian exploration of Columbus in a poetic way. We also the theme of the poem is “never lose hope”. The moral of this poem is not to lose hope even if you don’t find success. Columbus has taught us and the upcoming generation to be brave and not lose hope. In the same way, his motive is to bring gold for his country which he fails even after attempting repeatedly. Moreover, this poem has a great lesson for kids. It is one of the best English poems for kids. We hope you enjoyed reading this interesting poem.