"Crossing the Bar"

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

This poem is a metaphor for dying and going to Heaven. To "cross the bar" is symbolic of dying and leaving the earth to reach Heaven. However, unlike most people, the speaker speaks of death in an accepting way. The attitude of death is calm and not fearful, especially through this line "and may there be no moaning of the bar". The speaker wants to "cross the bar" with "no sadness of farewell". Although he is leaving and dying, he is going to go to heaven to meet his "Pilot faces to face" and this is the reason as to why there should not be sadness. The speaker is too happy to be going to Heaven to meet God and to praise God for all of his works.   Overall, the speaker has a very accepting and positive view of death. The metaphor of "crossing the bar" serves as the theme of the poem.