Classic and Contemporary Poetry
OLD SAILORS, by WILLIAM HENRY DAVIES Poet Analysis First Line: I loved a ship from early boyhood days Last Line: And a new crew is born for aeons more. Alternate Author Name(s): Davies, W. H. Subject(s): Sailing & Sailors; Seamen; Sails | ||||||||
I loved a ship from early boyhood days; It seemed to me a thing that lived and felt, To pet and coax, that knew the captain's voice. I heard the captain shouting to his men, And, as that voice which calleth home the cows, Will make the far-off sheep look up and bleat, So in my heart that captain's voice found ears, Meant for his men. Oh, what a joy was mine To see in dock the little boat that sailed Across the deep Atlantic with one man! I saw the two old warships made of oak, That in days gone had spake out fierce and loud With iron tongues in bodies of hard wood. I saw the steamship that could go its way Without consulting any wind or tide; That ship of steam, and its propeller with Four mighty arms of iron that could churn The sea for miles when it lay calm and blue. I watched the sailors, every move they made; Those sailors true, whose eyes would grow more bright, Like glow-worms, when they saw a coming storm. This world on which we live is but a ship Without a port on an eternal cruise; Oft taking fire, it burns its living crew, Then sailing into a cold void, its hull, Encased in ice, takes a warm current back, And a new crew is born for aeons more. | Discover our Poem Explanations and Poet Analyses!Other Poems of Interest...SAILS OF MURMUR by ANSELM HOLLO THE RIME OF THE ANCIENT MARINER by SAMUEL TAYLOR COLERIDGE TOM BOWLING ['S EPITAPH] by CHARLES DIBDIN HOW'S MY BOY? by SYDNEY THOMPSON DOBELL LOVE AT SEA by THEOPHILE GAUTIER A BIRD'S ANGER by WILLIAM HENRY DAVIES |
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