Wisp at sail...

As the days take on a mellower light, and the apple at last hangs
really finish'd and indolent-ripe on the tree,
Then for the teeming quietest, happiest days of all!
The brooding and blissful halcyon days.
Walt Whitman

Sea Fever

I must go down to the sea 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 the wind's song and the white sail's shaking,
And a gray mist on the sea's face, and a gray 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.

John Masefield

Sun in my lattice, and sun on the sea
(Oh, but the sun is fair),
And a sky of blue and a sea of green and a ship with a white, white sail between,
And a light wind blowing free-
And back from the stern, and forth from the land,
The last farewell of a waving hand.

Ella Wheeler Wilcox

Solace of the Sea

The sturdy sloop bobs along,
Waves licking at the sides.
Its sails filled with lilting breeze
Birthing joy in my sighs.

The scent of kelp and ocean air,
Gulls gliding overhead,
The swish of boat upon the foam,
I slumber in my water bed.

Rejoicing in the shifting ocean,
And the friendships that I find,
The suntanned faces, generous hearts,
Like currents running through my mind

Oh glorious days spent on the water,
When escape is what must be.
Sea calls me with its siren song
Come launch and sail!
Be free with me!

Linda H. Carney

Chesapeake Mornings

Standing in the driveway by the trash cans
My mind wanders southward, a hundred miles
And more, to where herons feed in clear water
While boats swing restlessly in tidal streams.

I measure all of my daybreaks at home
Against the Chesapeake mornings I have known,
Anchored in the stillness of emerging light,
Waiting for dawn to open my shadowed eyes.

I hear the wind singing in the clothes-line,
Moaning in the roadside telephone wires.
And I know that it is the same wind that
Frolics far away in drum-tight rigging.

A grove of tall masts is tracing circles
In the sky as restless keels and unmanned rudders
Stain the blue water with rippling patterns:
Brush strokes from the steady hand of god.

Chris Kleinfelter

We traveled this far to watch her riding
Her wild horses across the sands.
How their manes frothed and whirled about us,
Their breath a salt mist against our faces.
Her Heartbeat was a thunder in our ears,
Dashing our shouted words into insignificance.
Oh - How the ground shook beneath our feet
As those white horses pounded this desolate shore.
Closing our eyes, we felt them surging through our minds,
Pounding through the deep caverns of our hearts.
While the sand raced ahead of those wild creatures,
Swirling and billowing in a great tide to the
Lonely dirge of the restless wind.

Stephanie June Sorrell

The King of Tempest thunders o'er the plain,
And scorns the azure monarch of the main,
He sweeps thy surface, makes thy billows roar,
And furious, lash the loud resounding shore.
Phillis Wheatley

The Captain and the Kid

I never used to miss the chance
To climb upon his knee
Listen to the many tales
Of life upon the sea

We'd go sailin' back on barkentines
An' talk of things he did
Tomorrow just a day away
For the captain and the kid

His world had gone from sailin' ships
To rakin' mom's backyard
He never could adjust to land
Although he tried so hard

We both were growin' older then
Wiser with our years
That's when I came to understand
The course his heart still steered

He died about a month ago
While winter filled the air
And though I cried I was so proud
To love a man so rare

He's somewhere on the ocean now
A place he oughta be
With one hand on the starboard rail
He's wavin' back at me

I never used to miss the chance
To climb upon his knee
Listen to his many tales
Of life upon the sea

We'd go sailin' back on barkentines
Talk of things he did
The world was just a day away
For the captain and the kid

For the captain
And this kid

Jimmy Buffett

I said, love's easier when it's far away
We sat and watched a distant light
We're two ships that pass in the night
We both smile and we say it's alright.
Ian Hunter

Sailing

It's not far down to paradise
At least it's not for me
And if the wind is right you can sail away
And find tranquility
The canvas can do miracles
Just you wait and see
Believe me

It's not far to never never land
No reason to pretend
And if the wind is right you can find the joy
Of innocence again
The canvas can do miracles
Just you wait and see
Believe me

Sailing
Takes me away
To where I've always heard it could be
Just a dream and the wind to carry me
And soon I will be free

Fantasy
It gets the best of me
When I'm sailing
All caught up in the reverie
Every word is a symphony
Won't you believe me

It's not far back to sanity
At least it's not for me
And when the wind is right you can sail away
And find serenity
The canvas can do miracles
Just you wait and see
Believe me

Christopher Cross

Wynken, Blynken, and Nod one night
Sailed off in a wooden shoe ~
Sailed on a river of crystal light,
Into a sea of dew.
Eugene Field

The Sea Gypsy

I am fevered with the sunset,
I am fretful with the bay,
For the wander-thirst is on me
And my soul is in Cathay.
There's a schooner in the offing,
With her topsails shot with fire,
And my heart has gone aboard her
For the Islands of Desire.
I must forth again to-morrow!
With the sunset I must be
Hull down on the trail of rapture
In the wonder of the sea.

Richard Hovey

Late in the afternoon on the Choptank River...

The sun was shining on the sea,
Shining with all his might:
He did his very best to make
The billows smooth and bright--
Lewis Caroll