Here is John Masefield himself reading. It's in the second half of the Sea Fever track at 1.08 mins in
http://www.deezer.com/track/33600551
To hear it you will need a deezer account, but it's easy to sign up for one.
Quinquireme of Nineveh from distant Ophir,
Rowing home to haven in sunny Palestine,.
With a cargo of ivory,
And apes and peacocks,
Sandalwood, cedarwood, and sweet white wine.
Stately Spanish galleon coming from the Isthmus,
Dipping through the Tropics by the palm-green shores,
With a cargo of diamonds,
Emeralds, amythysts,
Topazes, and cinnamon, and gold moidores.
Dirty British coaster with a salt-caked smoke stack,
Butting through the Channel in the mad March days,
With a cargo of Tyne coal,
Road-rails, pig-lead,
Firewood, iron-ware, and cheap tin trays.
Comments
Hi
I enjoyed this. Maybe it's the contrast between the different cargoes. (If I'd written this I'd have been compelled to write about a cargo of souls lol). This will do well in the shop
Maybe I'm weird
but I like looking things up. Rich imagery indeed.
I found a reading on YouTube
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WSbQ0qwQwuk
Masefield's "Jane" was one of my earliest favouritest poems.
https://www.neopoet.com/weirdelf/blog/mon-2013-04-08-1331
I love the Tom O 'Bedlam reading
And I absolutely love Masefield's 'Jane' poem.
Thanks Jess.
Jx
Especially loved
the first stanza. You probably know why (grins)
Rich imagery as Jess pointed out. As rich as all the gem stones mentioned.
Thank you for sharing Jane.
Rula
Now I've met you, so as to speak, I think of you every time I read this poem.
And I read it a lot, I just love it.
Masefield wrote many haunting poems, often about the sea.
Jxx