John Masefield > Quotes

“The distant soul can shake the distant friend's soul and make the longing felt, over untold miles.”
― John Masefield

“Sea-Fever"

I must 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 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 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, Sea Fever: Selected Poems

“Only the road and the dawn, the sun, the wind, and the rain,
And the watch fire under stars, and sleep, and the road again.
”
― John Masefield

“All I ask is a tall ship and a star to sail her by.”
― John Masefield

“The days that make us happy make us wise”
― John Masefield

“Life: a beauty chased by tragic laughter.”
― John Masefield

“Men in a ship are always looking up, and men ashore are usually looking down.”
― John Masefield

“Beauty you lifted up my sleeping eye And filled my heart with longing with a look.”
― John Masefield

“Christmas ought to be brought up to date,” Maria said. “It ought to have gangsters, and aeroplanes and a lot of automatic pistols.”
― John Masefield, Box Of Delights

“Most roads lead men homewards,
My road leads forth.”
― John Masefield

“The Thames is a wretched river after the Mersey and the ships are not like Liverpool ships and the docks are barren of beauty ... it is a beastly hole after Liverpool; for Liverpool is the town of my heart and I would rather sail a mudflat there than command a clipper out of London”
― John Masefield