Land Ho!
Salt-Water Ballads by Masefield
Ahoy there!
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thought substack needed some sailor vibes
⚓️
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THE GOLDEN CITY OF ST. MARY
Out beyond the sunset, could I but find the way,
Is a sleepy blue laguna which widens to a bay,
And there’s the Blessed City — so the sailors say - The Golden City of St. Mary.
*
It’s built of fair marble — white - without a stain,
And in the cool twilight when the sea-winds wane
The bells chime faintly, like a soft, warm rain,
In the Golden City of St. Mary.
*
Among the green palm-trees where the fire-flies shine,
Are the white tavern tables where the gallants dine,
Singing slow. Spanish songs like old mulled wine,
In the Golden City of St. Mary.
*
Oh I’ll be shipping sunset-wards and westward-ho
Through the green toppling combers a-shattering into snow,
Till I come to quiet moorings and a watch below,
In the Golden City of St. Mary!
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TRADE WINDS
In the harbour, in the island, in the Spanish Seas,
Are the tiny white houses and the orange-trees,
And day-long, night long, the cool and pleasant breeze
Of the steady Trade Winds blowing.
*
There is the red wine, the nutty Spanish ale,
The shuffle of the dancers, the old salt’s tale,
The squeaking fiddle, and the soughing in the sail
Of the steady Trade Winds blowing.
*
And o nights there’s fire-flies and the yellow moon,
And in the ghostly palm-trees the sleepy tune
Of the quiet voice calling me, the long low croon
Of the steady Trade Winds blowing.
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(Turner)
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“The last sea sailed, the last shallow charted,
The last field reaped, the last harvest stored
The last fire out, the last guest departed,
Grant the last prayer that I shall pray, “Be good to me, O Lord!”
***
“Let me pass in a night at sea, a night of storm and thunder,
In the loud crying of the wind through sail and rope and spar;
Send me a ninth great peaceful wave to drown and roll me under…
In the dim green quiet place far out of sight an hearing,
Grant I may hear at whiles the wash and thresh of the sea-foam
About the fine keen bows of the stately clippers steering
Towards the lone northern star and the fair ports of home!”
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“Delicate cool seaweeds, green and amber-brown,
In beds where shaken sunlight slowly filters down…”
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“The angels call from deep to deep,
The burning heavens felt the thrill…”
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“There’s a sea-way somewhere where all day long,
Is the hushed susurrus of the sea,
The meowing of the skuas and the sailor’s song,
And the wind’s crying out to me…
There’s a haven somewhere…”
GLOSSARY:
Susurrus- soft rustling sound
Skuas- predatory sea bird
Image source: Oceanwide Expedition article called “fierce and feathered”
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“Wind’s in the heart of me, a fire’s in my heels…
I hunger for the sea’s edge…
For the windy green, unquiet sea…”
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“Swinging’ to the blushin’ tide,
Dipping’ to the swell,
N’ the crews all singin’ sonny,
Beatin’ at the bell!”
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Cheers! 🍻
Nur Isa Khan