O for the bounding wave, and the salt, salt spray on my face!
For the sweep of the filling sail, and its free, untrammeled pace!
For the life that hath no bound to its path but the open sea;
For the soul as free as air, that by right belongs to me!
For power to cast aside these fetters dark and strong,
To bound over heaving deep — and no more to feel the thong
That cuts through the quivering heart and the restless soul, as well!
I yearn for a fuller life, with a might I cannot quell!
O for the bounding wave, and the salt, salt spray on my face!
For the strength to grasp and hold the plan of a waning race.
For might to compel the tide in its turn to serve my will,
That my heart of the fountain deep, may drink to the brim its fill!