I MUST GO DOWN TO THE SEA AGAIN.....

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

For some reason, memory work from High School has stayed with me all these years. This is another of those poems embedding in my mind and heart.

Today, it was a BEAUTIFUL, warm day with lots of sunshine to fill me with Vitamin D, as well as to sooth my soul!

I went for a walk down to the pier then down along the Ambleside beach, and of course, again...forgot my camera! There was no wind, the sun was lovely, the waves we're rolling in, and I found a nice warm log to sit and put my back against and watch them and become almost hypnotized by the rolling action.

I sat watching as a large log was unsuccessfully trying to land itself on the beach, but just as it almost made it, along came a huge wave, pushing it back further out. I almost felt like taking my shoes off and pulling the poor thing in!

Where do the waves come from when there is no wind? Where have they been and what have they seen? All these melancholy thoughts takes over the mind, when watching the sea and it's motion.

Finally, I decided to move on, and the beach I was walking had a small opening around part of the sea wall, that I could walk on and up to the top of the seawall, but in the time I had sat there, the tide had come in and my pathway was now blocked by water. I had to backtrack!

Then I noticed the ships sitting waiting for a higher tide to proceed under the Lion's Gate, had begun to move in. All had Chinese names on the ships, so they had come a long way.

Speaking of High School, I got a lovely letter from another Capreol High Student today. It's wonderful to hear from someone from another time in life, who can confirm that...yeah...I once was young! It's so long ago, I sometimes wonder if my youth is all myth! To hear all those names of classmates from long ago, was a real treat. Roxanne, you we're right when you told me throwing out my HS yearbooks was a big mistake!!!

Well, I'm into another good book. This one by Susan Howach (remember her Irene?) So, off to my bath, and crawl into bed, until the words on the page begin to blur and I start to read each paragraph a second time, and realize it's time to put the book down and call it a day!

Until tomorrow....see ya!