WHEN the gulls come in, and the shallow sings Fresh to the wind, and the bell-buoy rings, And a spirit calls the soul from sleep To follow over the flashing deep; When the gulls come in from the fields of space, Vagrants out of a pathless place, Waifs of the wind that dip and veer In the gleaming sun where the land lies near,-
Long they have wandered far and free, Bedouin birds of the desert sea; God only marked their devious flight, God only followed them day and night,- Sailor o' mine, when the gulls come in, And the shallow sings to the bell-buoy's din, Look to thy ship and thy gods hard by, There's a gale in the heart of the golden sky.