The Typhoon

Why need ye fear, O Mariner?
Why need ye fear?
The winds sing no new song, and the waves
Have spoken their words since time-
With them thou art familiar.
Why need ye fear, O Mariner?
The craft is thine, and each cunning trick
Of steering lies within thy brawn.
The wheel turns slow, eh, Mariner?
And the waters heavy swell.
Yon, faint coming, like a veiled lady
Rising from the sea-the storm!
Why need ye fear? Baring thy breast to the gale,
Let the masts bend low and thy prow ride free!
What needst thou fear, O Mariner?
Is the water black and yellow-lashed,
In venom tipped the waves; and the lightnings,
Like talons, grasp the waves and wring them dry,
And cast them back unto the sea!
What needst thou fear, O Mariner?
What needst thou fear?
The winds wail like shrieking mermaids
That disport some wanton land.
What needst thou fear, O Mariner,
Though they laxy their beauty o'er
Thy very keel, and beckoning, tempt thy smile!
What needst thou fear, O Mariner;,
For thou canst hear the flapping of the gulls-
And port is near!