"Sea Fever" - John Masefield (poem)

This was the first poem I ever took to heart and, as you can see from They Call it Stormy Monday (w/pictures of Plakes Beach), I love going back down to the sea as much as I ever did.  It doesn't appear Masefield had much use for deck chairs or beach umbrellas either.

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

From SALT-WATER POEMS AND BALLADS, by John Masefield, published by the Maxmillan Co., NY, © 1913, p. 55; The poem was first published in SALT-WATER BALLADS, © 1902.

It has something of the feel of "Ithaka" by Constantine Cavafy which is also a personal favorite but which I did not discover until it was revealed by a friend fairly recently.