The Sea, by Charlotte Smith

The sea! the sea! the open sea!
The blue, the fresh, the ever free!
Without a bank, without a bay,
It’s endless beauty on display.
Its wildness calls, its sweet allure,
To wanderers, the hearts so pure.
Oh, where’s the fountain of the tide?
Spirit of waves, abide, abide.

Through moonlit dreams and stormy skies,
The sea is full of hidden sighs.
It waits with hope, it stirs with dread
As sailor’s hearts and spirits spread.

• Charlotte Smith