Lincoln Ross Colcord

Losing the Land

The sea seemed very blue and wide
After the muddy harbor tide;
The slender masts looked strange and high,
Towering with canvas to the sky;
The deck became the scene of tales
Under the shadow of the sails.
A new life entered in the ship;
We watched the main-truck wheel and dip,
And felt her lift beneath our feet
With able lunge and motion sweet.
She slipped along with scarce a sound;
The broad horizon hemmed us round;
Over the ocean's floor appeared
The lonely spirit never feared;
To us who knew and loved the sea,
It seemed like home – and we were free.