SEA FEVER
John Masefield

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 wind's song,
       and the white sail's shaking,
And a grey mist on sea's face and a gray dawn
       Breaking

I must go down to the seas again, for the call of
the running tide
Is the 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 blown spume, and the
sea-gulls crying.

I must go down the seas again, to the vagrant
       gypsy life,
To the gull's way and the whales 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
       trick's over.



Masefield captures the lure of the sea to a sailor in this poem.