I want to go aboard my ship, and sail and sail away—
To see the whales a-spouting and the porpoises at play;
To meet Atlantic rollers with their wild and mighty sweep—
I want to know the dangers and the wonders of the deep.

I want to see tall icebergs, all a-sparkle, drifting by
With surf about their buttresses, their spires against the sky,
To make my voyage northwards till we're fast amid the floe
Where the white bear prowls around us, hunting seals across the snow.

I want to land on coral isles, far in the ocean blue,
To battle round the dreadful Horn as all stout seamen do.
But since I'm not quite old enough I sometimes dream instead,
And make myself adventures though they're only in my head.