| |
|
It's a sunny pleasant anchorage is Kingdom Come
Where the crew is always layin' aft with double-tots o' rum
'N' there's dancin' and there's fiddlin' of ev'ry kind o' sort
It's a fine place for sailormen is that there port.
'N' I wish --
I wish as I was there.
The winds is never nothin' more than jest light airs
'N' no one gets belayin' pinned, 'n' no-one never swears
Yer free to loaf an' laze around, yer pipe atween yer lips
Lollin' on the fo'c's'le, sonny, lookin' at the ships.
'N' I wish --
I wish as I was there.
For ridin' in the anchorage the ships of all the world
Have got one anchor down 'n' all sails furled;
All the sunken hookers 'n' the crews as took 'n' died
They lays there merry, sonny, swingin' with the tide.
'N' I wish --
I wish as I was there.
Drowned old wooden hookers green wi' drippin' wrack
Ships as never fetched to port, as never came back
Swingin' to the blushin' tide, dippin' to the swell,
'N' the crews all singin', sonny, beatin' on the bell.
'N' I wish --
I wish as I was there.
This poem is in the public domain.
|
John Masefield (1878-1967) was an English poet, author, and playwright. Both his parents died while he was a child, and at the age of thirteen, annoyed with John's "addiction" to reading, the aunt in charge of caring for him sent him off to train for a life as a sailor. Although his experiences at sea provided much material for the stories and poems he would later write, John soon tired of that harsh life and, on a voyage to New York, he jumped ship. For two years, he worked at odd jobs in that city, using his free time for reading and writing. He eventually returned to England, married, had two children, and established himself as a significant literary talent. As his stature as a writer continued to grow, John became an internationally successful lecturer and was appointed as England's poet laureate, a position he held for nearly forty years. He actively wrote and published until he was 88 years old.
 Buy on Amazon Buy on Amazon Buy on Amazon Buy on Amazon
|
|
|
There are no comments for this poem yet.
|
|
|
My Cart 
