Ship-Love
Reading edition
When God gave to all men All the earth to love He gave them the waters under the sea, He gave them the sky above; And some love the waters, And some love the sky; But I love the tall ships That go sailing by. For when God gave to my heart The warm living blood He gave me, too, the passion For ebb-tide and flood; And my love is ship-love, For tall ships and strange, For steam-ships and sailing ships The whole wide range. And when God calls my spirit And claims the soul of me He’ll find it a-wandering With ships on the sea; He’ll find it on a warm deck Dreaming in the sun, Long after I am perished And my earth-life done.
Ethel E. Mannin