Sea Fever

Tall Ship in Rough Seas, Oil on Hardboard, 2008, Robert Kimball

I must go down to the seas again, to the lonely sea 

and the sky,

And all I ask is a tall ship and a star to steer her by;

And the wheel’s kick and the wind’s song and the white sail’s shaking,

And a grey mist on the sea’s face, and a grey dawn breaking,

Photograph, Hawaii, Coleen Wilcox Art, Coleen Wilcox

I must go down to the seas again, 

for the call of the running tide

Is a wild call and a clear call that may not be denied;

And all I ask is a windy day with the white clouds flying,

And the flung spray and the blown spume, 

and the sea-gulls crying.

Photography, Shawn Heinrichs/Barcroft Media

I must go down to the seas again, to the vagrant gypsy life,

To the gull’s way and the whale’s way where the wind’s like a whetted knife;

And all I ask is a merry yarn from a laughing fellow-rover,

And quiet sleep and a sweet dream 

when the long trick’s over.

Ocean Dreams, Giclee on Canvas, Jim Warren

~ John Masefield