Sea-Fever

When I was a young boy, my father and I would take walks along the seashore and he would quote “Sea Fever” from memory, thus infecting me with an archetypal imagery that has sustained me through life’s many trials.

I must 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.

I must 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.

I must 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.

John Masefield

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Tags: boating, cruising, poetry, sailing, sea stories, seamanship, video

This entry was posted on Wednesday, August 1st, 2007 at 9:35 am and is filed under Features, Random Images, Stories. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed.