poetryknows

Our logo was designed by one of the five founding members, Laura Palmer Bell. In an article from 1963 in the Savannah Morning News, Bell is quoted as describing it as "a sailing ship of picturesque design with a sail blown out by the wind against a windy sky in which a crescent moon rides ...a pictorial reminder of John Masefield's 'Sea-Fever,' in which the British Poet Laureate expresses the emotions of all lovers of the water spaces of the world."

"Sea-Fever"

I must down to the seas again, to the lonely sea and the sky,
And all I ask is a tall ship and a star to steer her by,
And the wheel's kick and the wind's song and the white sail's shaking,
And a grey mist on the sea's face, and a grey dawn breaking.

I must down to the seas again, for the call of the running tide
Is a wild call and a clear call that may not be denied;
And all I ask is a windy day with the white clouds flying,
And the flung spray and the blown spume, and the sea-gulls crying.

I must down to the seas again, to the vagrant gypsy life,
To the gull's way and the whale's way where the wind's like a whetted knife;
And all I ask is a merry yarn from a laughing fellow-rover
And quiet sleep and a sweet dream when the long trick's over.

By John Masefield (1878-1967).
(English Poet Laureate, 1930-1967.)