Bliss Carman (1861–1929)

I WAS born for deep-sea faring;

I was bred to put to sea;

Stories of my father’s daring

Filled me at my mother’s knee.

I was sired among the surges;

I was cubbed beside the foam;

All my heart is in its verges,

And the sea wind is my home.

All my boyhood, from far vernal

Bourns of being, came to me

Dream-like, plangent, and eternal

Memories of the plunging sea.