A Mariner’s Oath

Dry your eyes, my little friends, the sea has salt aplenty,
This old ship will steer you clear, far from every jetty.

Serpent-shark, storm befoul, wroth of maidens foamy,
Curse of pearl, siren song, corsairs’ dirk before you, 
Old ship will shirk them all, villains land is blind to;
Fear them not, little friends, speed this mariner binds to.
Flood, thunder, mist, and wave, these you must ascorn;
Fly, old ship, star-swift ship, as osprey water-born!
 

Evil not this mariner knows, that ship cannot outpace, 
Let go his hand, climb out his cloak, and trust the oath emplaced:
‘No harm will come, no lonely night, so long as this ship sails,
When Summer comes, and Autumn comes, when everything so pales,
When Winter freeze the living sea, puts frost on fishes’ mail,
When Springtime comes, and corals bloom, and Winter lifts it veil,
Swear I do this ship will sail—this mariner will be true:
No harm will come, no lonely night, for his passengers two.’