The call of the Seven Seas - Kendall Banning

I hear the call of the wanderlust,
And God knows why but go I must;
Until my bones are drifting dust
   I'll follow the sea-gull's cry.
The bow-watch song to the dog-watch bell,
The kick o' the wheel and the chantey's spell
Get hold of a man in spite o' Hell,
   And a better man than I!

I've ranged and I've rogued and I've done my bit;
I've danced the dance and I've paid for it;
I've turned my heel on the scripture's writ,
   In the lure of an alien eye.
But I set no store in the likes o' these
I set my store by the Seven Seas,
The mainsail-haul to a biting breeze
   And a star to steer me by!

And yet — the old ream comes to me
Of a quiet home where I would be
Beyond the trackless miles o' the sea
   And the far blown clouds of foam.
My homeland's call sets me astir
With hopes as brave as once they were,
And my heart cried out to the cry of her,—
   For she calls me, this time, home!

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Kendall Banning (1879 - 1944) USA