English Poetry II: From Collins to Fitzgerald.
The Harvard Classics. 1909–14. |
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| 464. A Wet Sheet and a Flowing Sea |
| | | Allan Cunningham (1784–1842) |
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| A WET sheet and a flowing sea, | |
| A wind that follows fast | |
| And fills the white and rustling sail | |
| And bends the gallant mast; | |
| And bends the gallant mast, my boys, | 5 |
| While like the eagle free | |
| Away the good ship flies, and leaves | |
| Old England on the lee. | |
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| O for a soft and gentle wind! | |
| I heard a fair one cry; | 10 |
| But give to me the snoring breeze | |
| And white waves heaving high; | |
| And white waves heaving high, my lads, | |
| The good ship tight and free— | |
| The world of waters is our home, | 15 |
| And merry men are we. | |
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| There’s tempest in yon horne´d moon, | |
| And lightning in yon cloud; | |
| But hark the music, mariners! | |
| The wind is piping loud; | 20 |
| The wind is piping loud, my boys, | |
| The lightning flashes free— | |
| While the hollow oak our palace is, | |
| Our heritage the sea. | |
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