 | Poems of home and travel |  |
250
THE MARINERS.
They were born by the shore, by the shore,
When the surf was loud and the sea-gull cried;
They were rocked to the rhythm of its roar,
They were cradled in the arms of the tide.
When the surf was loud and the sea-gull cried;
They were rocked to the rhythm of its roar,
They were cradled in the arms of the tide.
Sporting on the fenceless sand,
Looking o'er the limitless blue,
Half on the water and half on the land,
Ruddily and lustily to manhood they grew.
Looking o'er the limitless blue,
Half on the water and half on the land,
Ruddily and lustily to manhood they grew.
How should they follow where the plough
Furrows at the heels of the lazy steers?
How should they stand with a sickly brow,
Pent behind a counter, wasting golden years!
Furrows at the heels of the lazy steers?
How should they stand with a sickly brow,
Pent behind a counter, wasting golden years!
251
They turned to the Earth, but she frowns on her child;
They turned to the Sea, and he smiled as of old;
Sweeter was the peril of the breakers white and wild,
Sweeter than the land with its bondage and gold!
They turned to the Sea, and he smiled as of old;
Sweeter was the peril of the breakers white and wild,
Sweeter than the land with its bondage and gold!
Now they walk on the rolling deck,
And they hang to the rocking shrouds,
When the lee-shore looms with a vision of wreck,
And the scud is flung to the stooping clouds.
And they hang to the rocking shrouds,
When the lee-shore looms with a vision of wreck,
And the scud is flung to the stooping clouds.
Shifting the changeless horizon ring,
Which the lands and islands in turn look o'er,
They traverse the zones with a veering wing,
From shore to sea, and from sea to shore.
Which the lands and islands in turn look o'er,
They traverse the zones with a veering wing,
From shore to sea, and from sea to shore.
They know the South and the North;
They know the East and the West;
Shuttles of fortune, flung back and forth
In the web of motion, the woof of rest.
They know the East and the West;
Shuttles of fortune, flung back and forth
In the web of motion, the woof of rest.
They do not act with a studied grace,
They do not speak in delicate phrase,
But the candor of heaven is on their face,
And the freedom of ocean in all their ways.
They do not speak in delicate phrase,
But the candor of heaven is on their face,
And the freedom of ocean in all their ways.
252
They cannot fathom the subtle cheats,
The lying arts which the landsmen learn:
Each looks in the eyes of the man he meets,
And whoso trusts him, he trusts in turn.
The lying arts which the landsmen learn:
Each looks in the eyes of the man he meets,
And whoso trusts him, he trusts in turn.
Say that they curse, if you will,
That the tavern and harlot possess their gains:
On the surface floats what they do of ill—
At the bottom the manhood remains.
That the tavern and harlot possess their gains:
On the surface floats what they do of ill—
At the bottom the manhood remains.
When they slide from the gangway-plank below,
Deep as the plummeted shroud may drag,
They hold it comfort enough, to know
The corpse is wrapped in their country's flag.
Deep as the plummeted shroud may drag,
They hold it comfort enough, to know
The corpse is wrapped in their country's flag.
But whether they die on the sea or shore,
And lie under water, or sand, or sod,
Christ give them the rest that he keeps in store,
And anchor their souls in the harbors of God!
And lie under water, or sand, or sod,
Christ give them the rest that he keeps in store,
And anchor their souls in the harbors of God!
| Poems of home and travel | |