A Valediction
John Masefield 1878 (Ledbury) – 1967 (Abingdon)
We're bound for blue water where the great winds blow,
It's time to get the tacks aboard, time for us to go;
The crowd's at the capstan and the tune's in the shout,
"A long pull, a strong pull, and warp the hooker out."
The bow-wash is eddying, spreading from the bows,
Aloft and loose the topsails and some one give a rouse;
A salt-Atlantic chanty shall be music to the dead,
"A long pull, a strong pull, and the yard to the masthead."
Shrilly squeal the running sheaves, the weather-gear strains,
Such a clatter of chain-sheets, the devil's in the chains;
Over us the bright stars, under us the drowned,
"A long pull, a strong pull, and we're outward bound."
Yonder, round and ruddy, is the mellow old moon,
The red-funnelled tug has gone, and now, sonny, soon
We'll be clear of the Channel, so watch how you steer,
"Ease her when she pitches, and so-long, my dear."
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Submitted on August 03, 2020
Modified on March 05, 2023
- 50 sec read
- 17 Views
Quick analysis:
Scheme | AABB XXCC DDEE FFGG |
---|---|
Closest metre | Iambic hexameter |
Characters | 862 |
Words | 166 |
Stanzas | 4 |
Stanza Lengths | 4, 4, 4, 4 |
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"A Valediction" Poetry.com. STANDS4 LLC, 2024. Web. 19 Apr. 2024. <https://www.poetry.com/poem/55947/a-valediction>.
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