My High School book –Albatross Book of Verse- has on the inside cover my name and the year – 1971! Little did I know then that this small hardback copy would travel with me these past 54 years! I delight to pull it from the shelf and turn its pages and note some of those High School pencil markings! The fly page notes that the book is of English and American Poetry from the Thirteenth Century to the Present Day first published 1933 and my copy is a reprint in 1970! Land locked here in St. Louis it is good to open this small volume and enjoy in particular those poems of the sea. I grew up in Carrickfergus a harbor town, on Belfast Lough (below Carrickfergus Castle dating from 1177) and from my bedroom window I could see ships and sail boats moving up the lough from the open sea. I share today from John Masefield 1878-1966, the poem Sea-Fever. Enjoy!
Sea-Fever
I must go down to the seas 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 grey mist on the sea’s face, and a grey 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;
And all I ask is a windy day with the white clouds flying,
And the flung spray and the blown spume, and the sea-gulls 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 quiet sleep and a sweet dream when the long trick’s over. John Masefield 1878-1966
Prayer:
Lord God, your spirit moves
upon the waters. Your voice is
heard on the mountain heights
and in the valleys depths. Come close
O mighty God, come and make
yourself known to me through the
beauty of the snow flake and ice crystal.
Make yourself known to me in the
goodness of a neighbor, and by the trust of a friend.
And in this knowing might I too become a good neighbor
and a trusty friend.
Lord God I cannot heal the untold hurts of our world.
I cannot befriend all the lonely, or feed all the hungry or
shelter all without a home but by your grace I can make a
difference where I touch the earth. By your grace
O Lord encourage me to work with others in working
your miracle here and now, night and day, week after week.
Your call is a wild call and a clear call that may not be denied.
You O Lord are my guiding star. Amen.
Prayers, Poems, and Christian Ponderings 
Thank you! What a lovely treat! There was a breeze the other night that awakened our neighbor’s wind chime. And in my half sleep I thought it was the rigging against the masts of the boats in the harbor. For a brief second I thought I was there. In my entire lifetime there have been only a handful of years in which we did not spend time at the ocean, last year being one. It’s been a difficult grief in a way, but soothed by keeping up with friends, imagining a return, and following daily local news from our beloved harbor town. I love hearing about things that people say “must be in your blood”. Among the favorites I’ve heard are reading, the railroad, teaching, and for many including myself, the Sea.
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