O Magazine Readers' Favorite Poems

I have always loved "Sea Fever" by John Masefield. I am a land-locked prairie girl that longs to live by the ocean. Whenever I read the poem, I can imagine the smell of the salt air, the wind on my face and the movement of the waves as I sail towards my destiny.
—Submitted by Kathy Baker, Calgary, Alberta, Canada

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 gray mist on the sea's face, and a gray 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