John Masefield

Quotes

• “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 have seen flowers come in stony places / And kind things done by men with ugly faces, / And the gold cup won by the worst horse at the races, / So I trust, too.”

• “Quinquireme of Nineveh from distant Ophir, / Rowing home to haven in sunny Palestine, / With a cargo of ivory, / And apes and peacocks, / Sandalwood, cedarwood, and sweet white wine.”

• “It's a warm wind, the west wind, full of birds' cries; / I never hear the west wind but tears are in my eyes. / For it comes from the west lands, the old brown hills, / And April's in the west wind, and daffodils.”

• “My blood did leap, my flesh did revel, / Saul Kane was tokened to the devil.”