Home, for my heart still calls me; <br />Home, through the danger zone; <br />Home, whatever befalls me, <br />I will sail again to my own! <br /> <br />Wolves of the sea are hiding <br />Closely along the way, <br />Under the water biding <br />Their moment to rend and slay. <br /> <br />Black is the eagle that brands them, <br />Black are their hearts as the night, <br />Black is the hate that sends them <br />To murder but not to fight. <br /> <br />Flower of the German Culture, <br />Boast of the Kaiser's Marine, <br />Choose for your emblem the vulture, <br />Cowardly, cruel, obscene! <br /> <br />Forth from her sheltered haven <br />Our peaceful ship glides slow, <br />Noiseless in flight as a raven, <br />Gray as a hoodie crow. <br /> <br />She doubles and turns in her bearing, <br />Like a twisting plover she goes; <br />The way of her westward faring <br />Only the captain knows. <br /> <br />In a lonely bay concealing <br />She lingers for days, and slips <br />At dusk from her covert, stealing <br />Thro' channels feared by the ships. <br /> <br />Brave are the men, and steady, <br />Who guide her over the deep,-- <br />British mariners, ready <br />To face the sea-wolf's leap. <br /> <br />Lord of the winds and waters, <br />Bring our ship to her mark, <br />Safe from this game of hide-and-seek <br />With murderers in the dark!<br /><br />Henry Van Dyke<br /><br />http://www.poemhunter.com/poem/homeward-bound/
