"Goneys an' gullies an' all o' the birds o' the sea <br />They ain't no birds, not really", said Billy the Dane. <br />"Not mollies, nor gullies, nor goneys at all", said he, <br />"But simply the sperrits of mariners livin' again. <br /> <br />"Them birds goin' fishin' is nothin' but the souls o' the drowned, <br />Souls o' the drowned, an' the kicked as are never no more <br />An' that there haughty old albatross cruisin' around, <br />Belike he's Admiral Nelson or Admiral Noah. <br /> <br />"An' merry's the life they are living. They settle and dip, <br />They fishes, they never stands watches, they waggle their wings; <br />When a ship comes by, they fly to look at the ship <br />To see how the nowaday mariners manages things. <br /> <br />"When freezing aloft in a snorter I tell you I wish -- <br />(Though maybe it ain't like a Christian) -- I wish I could be <br />A haughty old copper-bound albatross dipping for fish <br />And coming the proud over all o' the birds o' the sea."<br /><br />John Masefield<br /><br />http://www.poemhunter.com/poem/sea-change/
