The Sailor Boy
Alfred Lord Tennyson
1809 to 1892
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He rose at dawn and, fired with hope,
Shot o'er the seething harbor-bar,
And reach'd the ship and caught rope,
And whistled to the morning star.
And while whistled long and loud
He heard a fierce mermaiden cry,
'O boy, tho' thou art young and proud,
I the place where thou wilt lie.
'The sands and surges mix
In caves about the dreary bay,
And thy ribs the limpet sticks,
And in thy heart scrawl shall play.'
'Fool,' he answer'd, 'death sure
To those that stay and those that roam,
I will nevermore endure
To sit with empty hands home.
'My mother clings about my neck,
My sisters "stay for shame;"
My father raves of death wreck,
They are all to blame, they are all blame.
'God help me! save I take my part
danger in the roaring sea,
A devil rises in heart,
Far worse than any death to me.'