OH for the breath of the briny deep, And the tug of the bellying sail, With the sea-gull's cry across the sky And a passing boatman's hail. For, be she fierce or be she gay, The sea is a famous friend alway. Ho! for the plains where the dolphins play, And the bend of the mast and spars, And a fight at night with the wild sea-sprite When the foam has drowned the stars. And, pray, what joy can the landsman feel Like the rise and fall of a sliding keel? Fair is the mead; the lawn is fair And the birds sing sweet on the lea; But the echo soft of a song aloft Is the strain that pleases me; And swish of rope and ring of chain Are music to men who sail the main. Then, if you love me, let me sail While a vessel dares the deep; For the ship's my wife, and the breath of life Are the raging gales that sweep; And when I'm done with calm and blast, A slide o'er the side, and rest at last. | Discover our Poem Explanations and Poet Analyses!Other Poems of Interest...THE HILL WIFE: LONELINESS by ROBERT FROST OF MAN'S MORTALITY by SIMON WASTELL THE DEATH OF HARRISON by NATHANIEL PARKER WILLIS TO THE RAILROAD MEN by FRANKLIN PIERCE ADAMS RIDDLE by ANNA LETITIA BARBAULD THE BRIGHT ASSASSIN by WILLIAM ROSE BENET |