Poetry Explorer- Classic Contemporary Poetry, SQUALL OFF SANDY HOOK, by WILLIAM LAWRENCE CHITTENDEN


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Classic and Contemporary Poetry

SQUALL OFF SANDY HOOK, by                    
First Line: High o'er the bowsprit flies the brine
Last Line: Chugs under our keel -- good-night! Good-night!
Alternate Author Name(s): Chittenden, Larry
Subject(s): Waves


High o'er the bowsprit flies the brine,
As we cleave the crests of the white-cap sea;
Once more we quaff of the ocean's wine,
Once more our prisoner hearts are free.
With mainsail reefed and helm hard down,
With rails a swash and a bending boom,
Our stanch sloop reels past the bell buoy brown
And shivers and leaps through the gathering gloom.

With the wild wind's song in the whistling shrouds
And a seething sea in our frosty wake,
We scan the scurrying, muttering clouds
And grimly note each tack we make.
On the leeward bow is Sandy Hook;
To the windward far the waves are white;
In the lap of night the Highlands look
Like some huge sea-snake with eyes of light.

The hissing rain is loosed at last --
It sweeps and swishes around us all --
The cordage wails, and the groaning mast
Bends far to the kiss of a nor'east squall.
We roll and pitch through the angry sea,
O'er hills and valleys of waves we fly,
Till the hoarse, long order of "H-a-r-d a-lee!"
Is lost in the answer of "Aye, aye, aye!"

With rattle and roar we go about,
The shivering sails swell out afar,
With wind astern and our boom far out
We weather and pass the harbor bar.
The anchor lights shine out and gleam
Like dancing jewels in night's dark crown,
While across the bay twin beacons beam
And glow o'er the Navesink Highland town.

Now the storm has ceased, and the wind has passed,
Yet a wild sea wails on the windward shore;
With all things tight, and our anchor cast,
The yachtsman's cruise for the day is o'er.
Eight bells have struck as we go below
To enjoy our cabin of snug delight,
But we soon turn in, for a lullaby slow
Chugs under our keel -- Good-night! Good-night!





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