The Call of the Sea

He wandered along the decks by night,

Stood at the rails by day,

Kept to himself from what I saw

And didn’t have much to say,

He wore a yellow sou’wester when

The weather came in cold,

And a battered and worn old Navy cap

With the legend ‘Merchant Gold’.

 

He must have been once a seaman

In a time quite long ago,

He still had his steady seaman’s legs

On the ‘Michaelangelo’,

A crusty and time-worn cruise ship

That had seen much better days,

Pottering round the islands through

The softly lapping waves.

 

I doubt that it could withstand a storm

It was just a summer cruise,

For a raggedy band of tourists who

Had nothing much to lose,

The fares were cheap and the cabins bare

So I utilised the bar,

While the wife would wander off and say,

‘I’ll know just where you are!’

 

I got in some serious drinking

There was nothing else to do,

While Helen came back with every name

Of the stewards, and the crew,

For Helen’s a social butterfly

And she loves to gad about,

I’ve never been much of a talker

So I tend to shut her out.

 

One night I happened to wander out

She was over by the rail,

Listening to the sailor who

Was reading her some tale,

I turned back into the dining room

Until my wife was free,

Then asked her: ‘What was he reading?’

And she said, ‘Some poetry!’

 

‘A poem called ‘Sea Fever’ that had

Brought a tear to his eye,

It was all about a tall ship

And a star to steer her by,

If only you could have heard him, Ben

He had such a tale to tell,

I could have listened to him for hours,

His soul is like a well.’

 

‘His life was spent on the water and

He calls it God’s domain,

He said that having to leave it brought

His life’s most constant pain,

He pointed the constellations out

Named every little star,

He gave me a feeling of awe about

The ocean, where we are.’

 

I know I must have been jealous for

I never took the bait,

I didn’t talk to the sailor,

When I would, it was too late,

A storm blew up and the rising seas

Crashed over the decks and spars,

While he clung onto the outer rails

And gazed on up at the stars.

 

And then I must have been seeing things

For a man approached him there,

Holding onto a trident with

Coiled seaweed in his hair,

Touched him once with the trident and

The sailor turned his head,

Nodded once, with a gentle smile

Then draped on the rail, was dead.

 

They gathered the poor old sailor up

And bound him up in a sheet,

Waited until the sea calmed down

Called everyone to meet,

Then after a simple service they

Just slipped him into the sea,

A fitting end for a sailor who

Had left our company.

 

But Helen was broken hearted she

Was weeping all day long,

While I was irritated, and

I asked her, what was wrong?

She stopped and smiled, and she said, ‘Oh well,

He’s back in the sea he loved,

In a tall ship with a broad sail,

With the sky and the stars above!’

I think of him, and Neptune with

A trident, on his throne,

The sailor reading poetry

But this time, quite alone,

While coral reefs and gentle seas

Pay tribute to his life,

But I couldn’t share it now with him…

He shared it with my wife!

David Lewis Paget  

(‘Sea Fever’ by John Masefield)

Reviews

[Marie]

John Masefield write well of the sea; I made the connection as soon as I read those lines. And it's good to know the sailor who loved her never left the sea. It's also good he was able to share his feelings with someone. Men aren't the only ones who love the sea.

[Barbz]

What a touching tale you spin, in perfect harmony. The sailor couldn't live his life, abandoned from the sea.The life he lived in days before, had been away from shore. The Captain or the Skipper, he would be forever more. It mattered not, the craft be worn, how poor his tourists be, his stories spilled to those in awe, from years of memory. There was much more, I'm sure he stored, the tales some never heard. There wasn't time, upon the rail, to say another word. Sir David, you capture Our imagination time after time, with perfect form of rhyme after rhyme,

[VALORMORE DE PLUME]

Enchanting delivery. like a sweet song for the heart. I love this. Great work.

[Einstein Noodle]

:) .. another satisfying delight .. a radioman was i .. and always to the skies i look .. for guidance passing by ;) have to say again .. love your story telling sir!
E.

[Valentine]

When I think of the sea, it brings to mind the old sailing ships, they were so beautiful. This mans character made me think of my oldest brother...he was in the navy 20+ years and loved to talk about all of his adventures when on leave. I met the ship once and was aboard, it gets very rocky when on the family cruise part. I think it gets into a real sailors blood and they want to stay forever. Valentine

[MomzillaNC]

Very beautiful and poignant. Would that he could enter her sentiments and the beauty of the experience.

[MomzillaNC]

You're right. The final verse does add to the tale beautifully. I loved the ending before, but this seems a more satisfying ending.