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| ALL the men of Harbury go down to the sea in ships, | |
| The wind upon their faces, the salt upon their lips. | |
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| The little boys of Harbury when they are laid to sleep, | |
| Dream of masts and cabins and the wonders of the deep. | |
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| The women-folk of Harbury have eyes like the sea, | 5 |
| Wide with watching wonder, deep with mystery. | |
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| I met a woman: “Beyond the bar,” she said, | |
| “Beyond the shallow water where the green lines spread, | |
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| “Out beyond the sand-bar and the white spray, | |
| My three sons wait for the Judgment Day.” | 10 |
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| I saw an old man who goes to sea no more, | |
| Watch from morn till evening down on the shore. | |
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| “The sea’s a hard mistress,” the old man said; | |
| “The sea is always hungry and never full fed. | |
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| “The sea had my father and took my son from me— | 15 |
| Sometimes I think I see them, walking on the sea! | |
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| “I’d like to be in Harbury on the Judgment Day, | |
| When the word is spoken and the sea is wiped away, | |
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| “And all the drowned fisher boys, with sea-weed in their hair, | |
| Rise and walk to Harbury to greet the women there. | 20 |
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| “I’d like to be in Harbury to see the souls arise, | |
| Son and mother hand in hand, lovers with glad eyes. | |
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| “I think there would be many who would turn and look with me, | |
| Hoping for another glimpse of the cruel sea! | |
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| “They tell me that in Paradise the fields are green and still, | 25 |
| With pleasant flowers everywhere that all may take who will, | |
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| “And four great rivers flowing from out the Throne of God | |
| That no one ever drowns in and souls may cross dry-shod. | |
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| “I think among those wonders there will be men like me, | |
| Who miss the old salt danger of the singing sea. | 30 |
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| “For in my heart, like some old shell, inland, safe and dry, | |
| Any one who harks will still hear the sea cry.” | |
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