"SEA FEVER"
BY
jOHN MASEFIELD
A
SALUTE
to
the poet
on behalf of sailors
world wide
by
Captain Rod Williams
aboard
his
beloved
"APOLLO TRIMARAN"
in Hawaiian
waters
"SEA FEVER"
I must go down to the sea again,
to the lonely sea and 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 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;
All I ask is a windy day with the
white clouds flying,
and the flung spray and the blown
spume, and the seagulls crying.
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 a quiet sleep and a sweet dream
When the long trip's over.