Classic and Contemporary Poetry
THE OLD SEAMAN, by JOHN RUSKIN Poet's Biography First Line: You ask me why mine eyes are bent Last Line: And all my home ishere. Subject(s): Old Age; Sailing & Sailors | ||||||||
I. YOU ask me why mine eyes are bent So darkly on the sea, While others watch the azure hills That lengthen on the lee. II. The azure hillsthey soothe the sight That fails along the foam; And those may hail their nearing height Who there have hope, or home. III. But I a loveless path have trod A beaconless career; My hope hath long been all with God, And all my home ishere. IV. The deep by day, the heaven by night, Roll onward swift and dark; Nor leave my soul the dove's delight, Of olive branch, or ark. V. For more than gale, or gulf, or sand, I've proved that there may be Worse treachery on the steadfast land, Than variable sea. VI. A danger worse than bay or beach A falsehood more unkind The treachery of a governed speech, And an ungoverned mind. VII. The treachery of the deadly mart Where human souls are sold; The treachery of the hollow heart That crumbles as we hold. VIII. Those holy hills and quiet lakes Ah! wherefore should I find This weary fever-fit, that shakes Their image in my mind. IX. The memory of a streamlet's din, Through meadows daisy-drest Another might be glad therein, And yet I cannot rest. X. I cannot rest unless it be Beneath the churchyard yew; But God, I think, hath yet for me More earthly work to do. XI. And therefore with a quiet will, I breathe the ocean air, And bless the voice that calls me still To wander and to bear. XII. Let others seek their native sod, Who there have hearts to cheer; My soul hath long been given to God, And all my home ishere. | Discover our Poem Explanations and Poet Analyses!Other Poems of Interest...EASTERN LONG ISLAND by MARVIN BELL SAILS OF MURMUR by ANSELM HOLLO LOST ABOARD U.S.S. 'GROWLER'; IN MEMORY OF WILLIAM HICKEY, 1944 by CHARLES OLSON THE LOVE POEMS OF MARICHIKO: 11 by KENNETH REXROTH THE LOVE POEMS OF MARICHIKO: 47 by KENNETH REXROTH A SCYTHIAN BANQUET SONG by JOHN RUSKIN |
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