Explore "The Sailing of the Fleets" by Bliss Carman on Textopian. Read with annotations and highlights.
Now the spring is in the town, / Now the wind is in the tree, / And the wintered keels go down / To the calling of the sea.
Out from mooring, dock, and slip, / Through the harbor buoys they glide, / Drawing seaward till they dip / To the swirling of the tide.
One by one and two by two, / Down the channel turns they go, / Steering for the open blue / Where the salty great airs blow;
Craft of many a build and trim, / Every stitch of sail unfurled, / Till they hang upon the rim / Of the azure ocean world.
Who has ever, man or boy, / Seen the sea all flecked with gold, / And not longed to go with joy / Forth upon adventures bold?
Who could bear to stay indoor, / Now the wind is in the street, / For the creaking of the oar / And the tugging of the sheet!
Now the spring is in the town, / Who would not a rover be, / When the wintered keels go down / To the calling of the sea?