Fievre De La Mer. (Translation) . Poem by Michael Walker

John Masefield had a wandering life, gypsy-like, often sailing on ships on the sea which he lived. See Poem Hunter/ John Masefield/ biography, life. The poem is written in three quatrains of long lines: the phrases 'I must go down to the seas again', 'and all I ask is', are repeated in each stanza, to great effect. He wants to go to 'the lonely sea and the sky', to see a tall ship sailing, steered by a star. The wind is blowing hard, shaking the sails as a grey dawn breaks.
The call of the running tide is wild and clear; it is a windy day with white clouds flying. There is spray and spume and he hears sea-gulls crying.
He wants to resume a 'vagrant gypsy life' at sea, where there are gulls and whales. He wants to hear 'a merry yarn from a laughing fellow-rover', then a sound sleep and 'a sweet dream when the long trick's over'. It is the long voyage of his life, which ends in the dreamworld of death.
Obviously, 'Sea fever' has tremendous impact on any reader, partly because it is not obscure or difficult, and also for the love of the seas and a wanderer's life, which it expresses.
'Sea Fever' has special resonance for me, as it was the very
first poem which I copied in my exercise book at primary school many years ago.