Poetry Explorer- Classic Contemporary Poetry, THE CALL OF THE SEA, by WILLIAM HENRY DAVIES


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Classic and Contemporary Poetry

THE CALL OF THE SEA, by                 Poet Analysis    
First Line: Gone are the days of canvas sails!
Last Line: Haunting their houses till they die.
Alternate Author Name(s): Davies, W. H.
Subject(s): Sea; Ocean


Gone are the days of canvas sails!
No more great sailors tell their tales
In country taverns, barter pearls
For kisses from strange little girls;
And when the landlord's merry daughter
Heard their rough jokes and shrieked with laughter,
They threw a muffler of rare fur,
That hid her neck from ear to ear.
Ho, ho! my merry men; they know
Where gold is plentiful -- Sail ho!
How they did love the rude wild Sea!
The rude, unflattering Sea; for he
Will not lie down for monarch's yacht,
No more than merchant's barge; he'll not
Keep graves with marks of wood or stone
For fish or fowl, or human bone.
The Sea is loth to lose a friend;
Men of one voyage, who did spend
Six months with him, hear his vexed cry
Haunting their houses till they die.
And for the sake of him they let
The winds blow them, and raindrops wet
Their foreheads with fresh water sprays --
Thinking of his wild, salty days.
And well they love to saunter near
A river, and its motion hear;
And see ships lying in calm beds,
That danced upon seas' living heads;
And in their dreams they hear again
Men's voices in a hurricane --
Like ghosts complaining that their graves
Are moved by sacrilegious waves.
And they do love to stand and hear
The old seafaring men that fear
Land more than water; carts and trains
More than wild waves and hurricanes.
And they do walk with love and pride
The tattooed mariner beside --
Chains, anchors on his arm, and ships --
And listen to his bearded lips.
Aye, they will hear the Sea's vexed cry
Haunting their houses till they die.





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