Elizabeth Coatsworth

From “Cockle Shells”

“THE SKY is great and the land is great and the ocean is great,” said he;

“And a bird is a lovely thing in the air, and a supple fish in the sea;

And a horse is a beautiful thing to watch, running so gay and free.

“But a ship that is built of land-grown oak, with her sails in the wind,” said he,

“And who goes and comes in the very thick of the calm and storm of the sea,

Is light as a bird and swift as a fish, and like a horse runs free!”