Laurel · John Masefield · The Story of a Round-House, and Other Poems

Dauber VI

John Masefield (1878–1967) · 1912

iambic pentameter · rhyme royal · 497 lines · from The Story of a Round-House, and Other Poems

All through the windless night the clipper rolledIn a great swell with oily gradual heavesWhich rolled her down until her time-bells tolled,Clang, and the weltering water moaned like beeves.The thundering rattle of slatting shook the sheaves,Startles of water made the swing ports gush,The sea was moaning and sighing and saying "Hush!"

It was all black and starless. Peering downInto the water, trying to pierce the gloom,One saw a dim, smooth, oily glitter of brownHeaving and dying away and leaving roomFor yet another. Like the march of doomCame those great powers of marching silences;Then fog came down, dead-cold, and hid the seas.

They set the Dauber to the foghorn. ThereHe stood upon the poop, making to soundOut of the pump the sailor's nasal blare,Listening lest ice should make the note resound.She bayed there like a solitary houndLost in a covert; all the watch she bayed.The fog, come closelier down, no answer made.

Denser it grew, until the ship was lost.The elemental hid her; she was mergedIn mufflings of dark death, like a man's ghost,New to the change of death, yet thither urged.Then from the hidden waters something surged--Mournful, despairing, great, greater than speech,A noise like one slow wave on a still beach.

Mournful, and then again mournful, and stillOut of the night that mighty voice arose;The Dauber at his foghorn felt the thrill.Who rode that desolate sea? What forms were those?Mournful, from things defeated, in the throesOf memory of some conquered hunting-ground,Out of the night of death arose the sound.

"Whales!" said the Mate. They stayed there all night longAnswering the horn. Out of the night they spoke,Defeated creatures who had suffered wrong,But were still noble underneath the stroke.They filled the darkness when the Dauber woke;The men came peering to the rail to hear,And the sea sighed, and the fog rose up sheer.

A wall of nothing at the world's last edge,Where no life came except defeated life.The Dauber felt shut in within a hedge,Behind which form was hidden and thought was rife,And that a blinding flash, a thrust, a knifeWould sweep the hedge away and make all plain,Brilliant beyond all words, blinding the brain.

So the night passed, but then no morning broke--Only a something showed that night was dead.A sea-bird, cackling like a devil, spoke,And the fog drew away and hung like lead.Like mighty cliffs it shaped, sullen and red;Like glowering gods at watch it did appear,And sometimes drew away, and then drew near.

Like islands, and like chasms, and like hell,But always mighty and red, gloomy and ruddy,Shutting the visible sea in like a well;Slow heaving in vast ripples, blank and muddy,Where the sun should have risen it streaked bloody.The day was still-born; all the sea-fowl scatteringSplashed the still water, mewing, hovering, clattering.

Then Polar snow came down little and light,Till all the sky was hidden by the small,Most multitudinous drift of dirty whiteTumbling and wavering down and covering all--Covering the sky, the sea, the clipper tall,Furring the ropes with white, casing the mast,Coming on no known air, but blowing past.

And all the air seemed full of gradual moan,As though in those cloud-chasms the horns were blowingThe mort for gods cast out and overthrown,Or for the eyeless sun plucked out and going.Slow the low gradual moan came in the snowing;The Dauber felt the prelude had begun.The snowstorm fluttered by; he saw the sun

Show and pass by, gleam from one towering prisonInto another, vaster and more grim,Which in dull crags of darkness had arisenTo muffle-to a final door on him.The gods upon the dull crags lowered dim,The pigeons chattered, quarrelling in the track.In the south-west the dimness dulled to black.

Then came the cry of "Call all hands on deck!"The Dauber knew its meaning; it was come:Cape Horn, that tramples beauty into wreck,And crumples steel and smites the strong man dumb.Down clattered flying kites and staysails: someSang out in quick, high calls: the fair-leads skirled,And from the south-west came the end of the world.

"Caught in her ball-dress," said the Bosun, hauling"Lee-ay, lee-ay!" quick, high, came the men's call;It was all wallop of sails and startled calling."Let fly!" "Let go!" "Clew up!" and "Let go all!""Now up and make them fast!" "Here, give us a haul!""Now up and stow them! Quick! By God! we're done!"The blackness crunched all memory of the sun.

"Up!" said the Mate. "Mizen top-gallants. Hurry!"The Dauber ran, the others ran, the sailsSlatted and shook; out of the black a flurryWhirled in fine lines, tattering the edge to trails.Painting and art and England were old talesTold in some other life to that pale man,Who struggled with white fear and gulped and ran.

He struck a ringbolt in his haste and fell--Rose, sick with pain, half-lamed in his left knee;He reached the shrouds where clambering men pell-mellHustled each other up and cursed him; heHurried aloft with them: then from the seaCame a cold, sudden breath that made the hairStiff on the neck, as though Death whispered there.

A man below him punched him in the side."Get up, you Dauber, or let me get past."He saw the belly of the skysail skied,Gulped, and clutched tight, and tried to go more fast.Sometimes he missed his ratline and was grassed,Scraped his shin raw against the rigid line.The clamberers reached the futtock-shrouds' incline.

Cursing they came; one, kicking out behind,Kicked Dauber in the mouth, and one belowPunched at his calves; the futtock-shrouds inclinedIt was a perilous path for one to go."Up, Dauber, up!" A curse followed a blow.He reached the top and gasped, then on, then on.And one voice yelled "Let go!" and one "All gone!"

Fierce clamberers, some in oilskins, some in rags,Hustling and hurrying up, up the steep stairs.Before the windless sails were blown to flags,And whirled like dirty birds athwart great airs,Ten men in all, to get this mast of theirsSnugged to the gale in time. "Up! Damn you, run!"The mizen topmast head was safely won.

"Lay out!" the Bosun yelled. The Dauber laidOut on the yard, gripping the yard, and feelingSick at the mighty space of air displayedBelow his feet, where mewing birds were wheeling.A giddy fear was on him; he was reeling.He bit his lip half through, clutching the jack.A cold sweat glued the shirt upon his back.

The yard was shaking, for a brace was loose.He felt that he would fall; he clutched, he bent,Clammy with natural terror to the shoesWhile idiotic promptings came and went.Snow fluttered on a wind-flaw and was spent;He saw the water darken. Someone yelled,"Frap it; don't stay to furl! Hold on!" He held.

Darkness came down--half darkness--in a whirl;The sky went out, the waters disappeared.He felt a shocking pressure of blowing hurlThe ship upon her side. The darkness spearedAt her with wind; she staggered, she careered,Then down she lay. The Dauber felt her go;He saw his yard tilt downwards. Then the snow

Whirled all about--dense, multitudinous, cold--Mixed with the wind's one devilish thrust and shriek,Which whiffled out men's tears, deafened, took hold,Flattening the flying drift against the cheek.The yards buckled and bent, man could not speak.The ship lay on her broadside; the wind's soundHad devilish malice at having got her downed.

How long the gale had blown he could not tell,Only the world had changed, his life had died.A moment now was everlasting hell.Nature an onslaught from the weather side,A withering rush of death, a frost that cried,Shrieked, till he withered at the heart; a hailPlastered his oilskins with an icy mail.

"Cut!" yelled his mate. He looked--the sail was gone,Blown into rags in the first furious squall;The tatters drummed the devil's tattoo. OnThe buckling yard a block thumped like a mall.The ship lay--the sea smote her, the wind's bawlCame, "loo, loo, loo!" The devil cried his houndsOn to the poor spent stag strayed in his bounds.

"Cut! Ease her!" yelled his mate; the Dauber heard.His mate wormed up the tilted yard and slashed,A rag of canvas skimmed like a darting bird.The snow whirled, the ship bowed to it, the gear lashed,The sea-tops were cut off and flung down smashed;Tatters of shouts were flung, the rags of yells--And clang, clang, clang, below beat the two bells.

"O God!" the Dauber moaned. A roaring rang,Blasting the royals like a cannonade;The backstays parted with a cracking clang,The upper spars were snapped like twigs decayed--Snapped at their heels, their jagged splinters splayed,Like white and ghastly hair erect with fear.The Mate yelled, "Gone, by God, and pitched them clear!"

"Up!" yelled the Bosun; "up and clear the wreck!"The Dauber followed where he led: belowHe caught one giddy glimpsing of the deckFilled with white water, as though heaped with snow.He saw the streamers of the rigging blowStraight out like pennons from the splintered mast,Then, all sense dimmed, all was an icy blast

Roaring from nether hell and filled with ice,Roaring and crashing on the jerking stage,An utter bridle given to utter vice,Limitless power mad with endless rageWithering the soul; a minute seemed an age.He clutched and hacked at ropes, at rags of sail,Thinking that comfort was a fairy-tale

Told long ago--long, long ago--long sinceHeard of in other lives--imagined, dreamed--There where the basest beggar was a princeTo him in torment where the tempest screamed,Comfort and warmth and ease no longer seemedThings that a man could know: soul, body, brain,Knew nothing but the wind, the cold, the pain.

"Leave that!" the Bosun shouted; "Crojick save!"The splitting crojick, not yet gone to rags,Thundered below, beating till something gave,Bellying between its buntlines into bags.Some birds were blown past, shrieking: dark, like shags,Their backs seemed, looking down. "Leu, leu!" they cried.The ship lay, the seas thumped her; she had died.

They reached the crojick yard, which buckled, buckledLike a thin whalebone to the topsail's strain.They laid upon the yard and heaved and knuckled,Pounding the sail, which jangled and leapt again.It was quite hard with ice, its rope like chain,Its strength like seven devils; it shook the mast.They cursed and toiled and froze: a long time passed.

Two hours passed, then a dim lightening came.Those frozen ones upon the yard could seeThe mainsail and the foresail still the same,Still battling with the hands and blowing free,Rags tattered where the staysails used to be.The lower topsails stood; the ship's lee deckSeethed with four feet of water filled with wreck.

An hour more went by; the Dauber lostAll sense of hands and feet, all sense of allBut of a wind that cut him to the ghost,And of a frozen fold he had to haul,Of heavens that fell and never ceased to fall,And ran in smoky snatches along the sea,Leaping from crest to wave-crest, yelling. He

Lost sense of time; no bells went, but he feltAges go over him. At last, at lastThey frapped the cringled crojick's icy pelt;In frozen bulge and bunt they made it fast.Then, scarcely live, they laid in to the mast.The Captain's speaking trumpet gave a blare,"Make fast the topsail, Mister, while you're there."

Some seamen cursed, but up they had to go--Up to the topsail yard to spend an hourStowing a topsail in a blinding snow,Which made the strongest man among them cower.More men came up, the fresh hands gave them power,They stowed the sail; then with a rattle of chainOne half the crojick burst its bonds again.

They stowed the sail, frapping it round with rope,Leaving no surface for the wind, no fold,Then down the weather shrouds, half dead, they grope;That struggle with the sail had made them old.They wondered if the crojick furl would hold."Lucky," said one, "it didn't spring the spar.""Lucky!" the Bosun said, "Lucky! We are!

She came within two shakes of turning topOr stripping all her shroud-screws, that first quiff.Now fish those wash-deck buckets out of the slop.Here's Dauber says he doesn't like Cape Stiff.This isn't wind, man, this is only a whiff.Hold on, all hands, hold on!" a sea, half seen,Paused, mounted, burst, and filled the main-deck green.

The Dauber felt a mountain of water fall.It covered him deep, deep, he felt it fill,Over his head, the deck, the fife-rails, all,Quieting the ship, she trembled and lay still.Then with a rush and shatter and clanging shrillOver she went; he saw the water creamOver the bitts; he saw the half-deck stream.

Then in the rush he swirled, over she went;Her lee-rail dipped, he struck, and something gave;His legs went through a port as the roll spent;She paused, then rolled, and back the water drave.He drifted with it as a part of the wave,Drowning, half-stunned, exhausted, partly frozen,He struck the booby hatchway; then the Bosun

Leaped, seeing his chance, before the next sea burst,And caught him as he drifted, seized him, held,Up-ended him against the bitts, and cursed."This ain't the George's Swimming Baths," he yelled;"Keep on your feet!" Another grey-back felledThe two together, and the Bose, half-blind,Spat: "One's a joke," he cursed, "but two's unkind."

"Now, damn it, Dauber!" said the Mate. "Look out,Or you'll be over the side!" The water freed;Each clanging freeing-port became a spout.The men cleared up the decks as there was need.The Dauber's head was cut, he felt it bleedInto his oilskins as he clutched and coiled.Water and sky were devils' brews which boiled,

Boiled, shrieked, and glowered; but the ship was saved.Snugged safely down, though fourteen sails were split.Out of the dark a fiercer fury raved.The grey-backs died and mounted, each crest litWith a white toppling gleam that hissed from itAnd slid, or leaped, or ran with whirls of cloud,Mad with inhuman life that shrieked aloud.

The watch was called; Dauber might go below."Splice the main brace!" the Mate called. All laid aftTo get a gulp of momentary glowAs some reward for having saved the craft.The steward ladled mugs, from which each quaff'dWhisky, with water, sugar, and lime-juice, hot,A quarter of a pint each made the tot.

Beside the lamp-room door the steward stoodLadling it out, and each man came in turn,Tipped his sou'-wester, drank it, grunted "Good!"And shambled forward, letting it slowly burn:When all were gone the Dauber lagged astern,Torn by his frozen body's lust for heat,The liquor's pleasant smell, so warm, so sweet,

And by a promise long since made at homeNever to taste strong liquor. Now he knewThe worth of liquor; now he wanted some.His frozen body urged him to the brew;Yet it seemed wrong, an evil thing to doTo break that promise. "Dauber," said the Mate,"Drink, and turn in, man; why the hell d'ye wait?"

"Please, sir, I'm temperance." "Temperance are you, hey?That's all the more for me! So you're for slops?I thought you'd had enough slops for today.Go to your bunk and ease her when she drops.And--damme, steward! you brew with too much hops!Stir up the sugar, man!--and tell your girlHow kind the Mate was teaching you to furl."

Then the Mate drank the remnants, six men's share,And ramped into his cabin, where he strippedAnd danced unclad, and was uproarious there.In waltzes with the cabin cat he tripped,Singing in tenor clear that he was pipped--That "he who strove the tempest to disarm,Must never first embrail the lee yardarm,"

And that his name was Ginger. Dauber creptBack to the round-house, gripping by the rail.The wind howled by; the passionate water leapt;The night was all one roaring with the gale.Then at the door he stopped, uttering a wail;His hands were perished numb and blue as veins,He could not turn the knob for both the Spains.

A hand came shuffling aft, dodging the seas,Singing "her nut-brown hair" between his teeth;Taking the ocean's tumult at his easeEven when the wash about his thighs did seethe.His soul was happy in its happy sheath;"What, Dauber, won't it open? Fingers cold?You'll talk of this time, Dauber, when you're old."

He flung the door half open, and a seaWashed them both in, over the splashboard, down;"You' silly, salt miscarriage!" sputtered he."Dauber, pull out the plug before we drown!That's spoiled my laces and my velvet gown.Where is the plug?" Groping in pitch dark water,He sang between his teeth "The Farmer's Daughter."

It was pitch dark within there; at each rollThe chests slid to the slant; the water rushed,Making full many a clanging tin pan bowlInto the black below-bunks as it gushed.The dog-tired men slept through it; they were hushed.The water drained, and then with matches dampThe man struck heads off till he lit the lamp.

"Thank you," the Dauber said; the seaman grinned."This is your first foul weather?" "Yes." "I thoughtUp on the yard you hadn't seen much wind.Them's rotten sea-boots, Dauber, that you brought.Now I must cut on deck before I'm caught."He went; the lamp-flame smoked; he slammed the door;A film of water loitered across the floor.

The Dauber watched it come and watched it go;He had had revelation of the liesCloaking the truth men never choose to know;He could bear witness now and cleanse their eyes.He had beheld in suffering; he was wise;This was the sea, this searcher of the soul--This never-dying shriek fresh from the Pole.

He shook with cold; his hands could not undoHis oilskin buttons, so he shook and sat,Watching his dirty fingers, dirty blue,Hearing without the hammering tackle slat,Within, the drops from dripping clothes went pat,Running in little patters, gentle, sweet,And "Ai, ai!" went the wind, and the seas beat.

His bunk was sopping wet; he clambered in.None of his clothes were dry; his fear recurred.Cramps bunched the muscles underneath his skin.The great ship rolled until the lamp was blurred.He took his Bible and tried to read a word;Trembled at going aloft again, and thenResolved to fight it out and show it to men.

Faces recurred, fierce memories of the yard,The frozen sail, the savage eyes, the jests,The oaths of one great seaman, syphilis-scarred,The tug of leeches jammed beneath their chests,The buntlines bellying bunts out into breasts.The deck so desolate-grey, the sky so wild,He fell asleep, and slept like a young child.

But not for long; the cold awoke him soon,The hot-ache and the skin-cracks and the cramp,The seas thundering without, the gale's wild tune,The sopping misery of the blankets damp.A speaking-trumpet roared; a sea-boot's stampClogged at the door. A man entered to shout:"All hands on deck! Arouse here! Tumble out!"

The caller raised the lamp; his oilskins clickedAs the thin ice upon them cracked and fell."Rouse out!" he said. "This lamp is frozen wick'd.Rouse out!" His accent deepened to a yell."We're among ice; it's blowing up like hell.We're going to hand both topsails. Time, I guess,We're sheeted up. Rouse out! Don't stay to dress!"

"Is it cold on deck?" said Dauber. "Is it cold?We're sheeted up, I tell you, inches thick!The fo'c'sle's like a wedding-cake, I'm told.Now tumble out, my sons; on deck here, quick!Rouse out, away, and come and climb the stick.I'm going to call the half-deck. Bosun! Hey!Both topsails coming in. Heave out! Away!"

He went; the Dauber tumbled from his bunk,Clutching the side. He heard the wind go past,Making the great ship wallow as if drunk.There was a shocking tumult up the mast."This is the end," he muttered, "come at last!I've got to go aloft, facing this cold.I can't. I can't. I'll never keep my hold.

"I cannot face the topsail yard again.I never guessed what misery it would be."The cramps and hot-ache made him sick with pain.The ship stopped suddenly from a devilish sea,Then, with a triumph of wash, a rush of glee,The door burst in, and in the water rolled,Filling the lower bunks, black, creaming, cold.

The lamp sucked out. "Wash!" went the water back,Then in again, flooding; the Bosun swore."You useless thing! You Dauber! You lee slack!Get out, you heekapoota! Shut the door!You coo-ilyaira, what are you waiting for?Out of my way, you thing--you useless thing!"He slammed the door indignant, clanging the ring.

And then he lit the lamp, drowned to the waist;"Here's a fine house! Get at the scupper-holes"--He bent against it as the water raced--"And pull them out to leeward when she rolls.They say some kinds of landsmen don't have souls.I well believe. A Port Mahon baboonWould make more soul than you got with a spoon."

Down in the icy water Dauber gropedTo find the plug; the racing water sluicedOver his head and shoulders as she sloped.Without, judged by the sound, all hell was loosed.He felt cold Death about him tightly noosed.That Death was better than the misery thereIced on the quaking foothold high in air.

And then the thought came: "I'm a failure. AllMy life has been a failure. They were right.It will not matter if I go and fall;I should be free then from this hell's delight.I'll never paint. Best let it end to-night.I'll slip over the side. I've tried and failed."So in the ice-cold in the night he quailed.

Death would be better, death, than this long hellOf mockery and surrender and dismay--This long defeat of doing nothing well,Playing the part too high for him to play."O Death! who hides the sorry thing away,Take me; I've failed. I cannot play these cards."There came a thundering from the topsail yards.

And then he bit his lips, clenching his mind,And staggered out to muster, beating backThe coward frozen self of him that whined.Come what cards might he meant to play the pack."Ai!" screamed the wind; the topsail sheet went clack;Ice filled the air with spikes; the grey-backs burst."Here's Dauber," said the Mate, "on deck the first.

"Why, holy sailor, Dauber, you're a man!I took you for a soldier. Up now, come!"Up on the yards already they beganThat battle with a gale which strikes men dumb.The leaping topsail thundered like a drum.The frozen snow beat in the face like shots.The wind spun whipping wave-crests into clots.

So up upon the topsail yard again,In the great tempest's fiercest hour, beganProbation to the Dauber's soul, of painWhich crowds a century's torment in a span.For the next month the ocean taught this man,And he, in that month's torment, while she wested,Was never warm nor dry, nor full nor rested.

But still it blew, or, if it lulled, it roseWithin the hour and blew again; and stillThe water as it burst aboard her froze.The wind blew off an ice-field, raw and chill,Daunting man's body, tampering with his will;But after thirty days a ghostly sunGave sickly promise that the storms were done.

Words in this poem 99

windless a.: Having no wind; calm.
clipper n.: One who clips; specifically, one who clips off the edges of coin.
heaves n.: A disease of horses, characterized by difficult breathing, with heaving of the flank, wheezing, flatulency, and a peculiar cough; broken wind.
clang v. t.: To strike together so as to produce a ringing metallic sound. [L. clangere; akin to Gr. clank.]
beeves n.: ; plural of Beef, the animal.
thundering a.: Emitting thunder.
slatting: Slats, collectively.
shook v. t.: To pack, as staves, in a shook.
starless a.: Being without stars; having no stars visible; as, a starless night.
dauber n.: One who, or that which, daubs; especially, a coarse, unskillful painter.
poop v. i.: To make a noise; to pop; also, to break wind. [Cf. D. poepen. See Pop.]
blare v. i.: To sound loudly and somewhat harshly. [OE. blaren, bloren, to cry, woop; cf. G. plärren to bleat, D. blaren to bleat, cry, weep. Prob. an imitative word, but cf. also E. blast. Cf. Blore.]
bayed a.: Having a bay or bays.
ghost n.: The spirit; the soul of man. [OE. gast, gost, soul, spirit, AS. gast breath, spirit, soul; akin to OS. g spirit, soul, D. geest, G. geist, and prob. to E. gaze, ghastly.]
despairing a.: Feeling or expressing despair; hopeless.
rode n.: Redness; complexion. [See Rud.]
stayed a.: Staid; fixed; settled; sober; -- now written staid. See Staid.
spoke n.: The radius or ray of a wheel; one of the small bars which are inserted in the hub, or nave, and which serve to support the rim or felly. [OE. spoke, spake, AS, spaca; akin to D. speek, LG. speke, OHG. speihha, G. speiche. sq. root170. Cf. Spike a nail.]
rife a.: Prevailing; prevalent; abounding. [AS. rif abundant, or Icel. rifr munificent; akin to OD. riff, rijve, abundant.]
broke v. i.: To transact business for another. Brome. [See Broker, and cf. Brook.]
cackling n.: The broken noise of a goose or a hen.
sullen a.: Lonely; solitary; desolate. Wyclif (Job iii. 14). [OE. solein, solain, lonely, sullen; through Old French fr. (assumed) LL. solanus solitary, fr. L. solus alone. See Sole, a.]
multitudinous a.: Consisting of a multitude; manifold in number or condition; as, multitudinous waves.
mort n.: A great quantity or number. [Cf. Icel. margt, neut. of margr many.]
eyeless a.: Without eyes; blind.
snowstorm n.: A storm with falling snow.
towering a.: Very high; elevated; rising aloft; as, a towering height.
wallop v. i.: To move quickly, but with great effort; to gallop. [Prov. Eng. [Cf. OFlem. walop a gallop; of uncertain origin. Cf. Gallop.]
clew v. t.: To direct; to guide, as by a thread. [Cf. D. kluwenen. See Clew, n.]
flurry n.: A sudden and brief blast or gust; a light, temporary breeze; as, a flurry of wind. [Prov. E. flur to ruffle.]
ringbolt n.: An eyebolt having a ring through the eye.
cursed a.: Deserving a curse; execrable; hateful; detestable; abominable.
skysail n.: The sail set next above the royal. See Illust. under Sail.
damn v. t.: To condemn; to declare guilty; to doom; to adjudge to punishment; to sentence; to censhure. [OE. damnen dap), OF. damner, dampner, F. damner, fr. L. damnare, damnatum, to condemn, fr. damnum damage, a fine, penalty. Cf. Condemn, Damage.]
wheeling n.: The act of conveying anything, or traveling, on wheels, or in a wheeled vehicle.
idiotic a.: Common; simple. Blackwall. [L. idioticus ignorant, Gr. idiotique. See Idiot.]
went n.: Course; way; path; journey; direction.
frap v. t.: To draw together; to bind with a view to secure and strengthen, as a vessel by passing cables around it; to tighten; as a tackle by drawing the lines together. Tottem. [Cf. F. frapper to strike, to seize ropes. Cf. Affrap.]
furl v. t.: To draw up or gather into close compass; to wrap or roll, as a sail, close to the yard, stay, or mast, or, as a flag, close to or around its staff, securing it there by a gasket or line. Totten. [Contr. fr. furdle, fr. fardel bundle: cf. F. ferler to furl, OF. fardeler to pack. See Furdle, Fardel, and cf. Farl.]
shocking a.: Causing to shake or tremble, as by a blow; especially, causing to recoil with horror or disgust; extremely offensive or disgusting.
broadside n.: The side of a ship above the water line, from the bow to the quarter.
onslaught n.: An attack; an onset; esp., a furious or murderous attack or assault. [OE. on on + slaught, slaht, slaughter. See Slaughter.]
withering a.: Tending to wither; causing to shrink or fade.
buckling a.: Wavy; curling, as hair. Latham.
mall n.: A large heavy wooden beetle; a mallet for driving anything with force; a maul. [OE. malle, F. mail, L. malleus. Cf. Malleus.]
bawl v. i.: To cry out with a loud, full sound; to cry with vehemence, as in calling or exultation; to shout; to vociferate. [Icel. baula to low, bellow, as a cow; akin to Sw. böla; cf. AS bellan, G. bellen to bark, E. bellow, bull.]
wormed a.: Penetrated by worms; injured by worms; worm-eaten; as, wormed timber.
slashed a.: Marked or cut with a slash or slashes; deeply gashed; especially, having long, narrow openings, as a sleeve or other part of a garment, to show rich lining or under vesture.
cannonade n.: The act of discharging cannon and throwing ball, shell, etc., for the purpose of destroying an army, or battering a town, ship, or fort; -- usually, an attack of some continuance. [F. Canonnade; cf. It. cannanata.]
nether a.: Situated down or below; lying beneath, or in the lower part; having a lower position; belonging to the region below; lower; under; -- opposed to upper. [OE. nethere, neithere, AS. ni, fr. the adv. ni downward; akin to neo below, beneath, D. neder down, G. nieder, Sw. nedre below, nether, a. & adv., and also to S]
crashing n.: The noise of many things falling and breaking at once.
limitless a.: Having no limits; unbounded; boundless. Davies (Wit's Pilgr.).
backs n.: Among leather dealers, the thickest and stoutest tanned hides.
bulge n.: The bilge or protuberant part of a cask. [OE. bulge a swelling; cf. AS. belgan to swell, OSw. bulgja, Icel. bolginn swollen, OHG. belgan to swell, G. bulge leathern sack, Skr. b to be large, strong; the]
bunt n.: A fungus (Ustilago foetida) which affects the ear of cereals, filling the grains with a fetid dust; -- also called pepperbrand.
mister n.: A trade, art, or occupation. [OF. mistier trade, office, ministry, need, F. métier trade, fr. L. ministerium service, office, ministry. See Ministry, Mystery trade.]
stowing n.: A method of working in which the waste is packed into the space formed by excavating the vein.
frapping n.: A lashing binding a thing tightly or binding things together.
wondered a.: Having performed wonders; able to perform wonderful things.
slop n.: Any kind of outer garment made of linen or cotton, as a night dress, or a smock frock. Halliwell. [AS. slop a frock or over-garment, fr. sl to slip, to slide; akin to Icel sloppr a thin garment; cf. OHG. slouf a garment. Cf. Slip, v. i.]
whiff n.: A sudden expulsion of air from the mouth; a quick puff or slight gust, as of air or smoke. [OE. weffe vapor, whiff, probably of imitative origin; cf. Dan. vift a puff, gust, W. chwiff a whiff, puff.]
drave: , old imp. of Drive.
booby n.: A dunce; a stupid fellow. [Sp. bobe dunce, idiot; cf. L. balbus stammering, E. barbarous.]
hatchway n.: A square or oblong opening in a deck or floor, affording passage from one deck or story to another; the entrance to a cellar.
spat n.: A young oyster or other bivalve mollusk, both before and after it first becomes adherent, or such young, collectively. [From the root of spit; hence, literally, that which is ejected.]
unkind a.: Having no race or kindred; childless. [See Kin kindred.]
aloud adv.: With a loud voice, or great noise; loudly; audibly. [Pref. a- + loud.]
splice v. t.: To unite, as two ropes, or parts of a rope, by a particular manner of interweaving the strands, -- the union being between two ends, or between an end and the body of a rope. [D. splitsen, splitten; akin to G. splissen, Sw. splissa, Dan. splisse, and E. split; -- from the dividing or splitting the ends into separate strands. See Split]
gulp v. t.: To swallow eagerly, or in large draughts; to swallow up; to take down at one swallow. [D. gulpen, cf. OD. golpe gulf.]
craft n.: Strength; might; secret power. [AS. cr strength, skill, art, cunning; akin to OS., G., Sw., & Dan. kraft strength, D. kracht, Icel. kraptr; perh. originally, a drawing together, stretching, fr]
drank n.: Wild oats, or darnel grass. See Drake a plant. [Cf. 3d Drake.]
lust v. i.: To list; to like. [AS. lystan. See Lust, n., and cf. List to choose.]
brew v. t.: To boil or seethe; to cook. [OE. brewen, AS. breówan; akin to D. brouwen, OHG. priuwan, MHG. briuwen, br, G. brauen, Icel. brugga, Sw. brygga, Dan. brygge, and perh. to L. defrutum must boi]
bunk n.: A wooden case or box, which serves for a seat in the daytime and for a bed at night. [U.S.] [Cf. OSw. bunke heap, also boaring, flooring. Cf. Bunch.]
uproarious a.: Making, or accompanied by, uproar, or noise and tumult; as, uproarious merriment.
disarm v. t.: To deprive of arms; to take away the weapons of; to deprive of the means of attack or defense; to render defenseless. [OE. desarmen, F. désarmer; pref. dés- (L. dis-) + armer to arm. See Arm.]
yardarm n.: Either half of a square-rigged vessel's yard, from the center or mast to the end.
splashboard n.: A guard in the front part of vehicle, to prevent splashing by a mud or water from the horse's heels; -- in the United States commonly called dashboard.
rushed a.: Abounding or covered with rushes.
thank n.: A expression of gratitude; an acknowledgment expressive of a sense of favor or kindness received; obligation, claim, or desert, or gratitude; -- now generally used in the plural. [AS. Þanc, Þonc, thanks, favor, thought; akin to OS. thank favor, pleasure, thanks, D. & G. dank thanks, Icel. Þ\'94kk, Dan. tak, Sw. tack, Goth. Þagks thanks; -]
cloaking n.: The act of covering with a cloak; the act of concealing anything.
oilskin n.: Cloth made waterproof by oil.
dripping n.: A falling in drops, or the sound so made.
sopping: more recent version of soppy. Used esp. in phrase sopping wet.
ache n.: A name given to several species of plants; as, smallage, wild celery, parsley. Holland. [F. ache, L. apium parsley.]
caller a.: Cool; refreshing; fresh; as, a caller day; the caller air.
cracked a.: Coarsely ground or broken; as, cracked wheat.
glee n.: Music; minstrelsy; entertainment.
flooding n.: The filling or covering with water or other fluid; overflow; inundation; the filling anything to excess.
indignant a.: Affected with indignation; wrathful; passionate; irate; feeling wrath, as when a person is exasperated by unworthy or unjust treatment, by a mean action, or by a degrading accusation. [L. indignans, -antis, p. pr. of indignari to be indignant, disdain. See Indign.]
iced a.: Covered with ice; chilled with ice; as, iced water.
foothold n.: A holding with the feet; firm L'Estrange.
defeat v. t.: To undo; to disfigure; to destroy. [From F. défait, OF. desfait, p. p. ofe défaire, OF. desfaire, to undo; L. dis- + facere to do. See Feat, Fact, and cf. Disfashion.]
muster n.: Something shown for imitation; a pattern. [OE. moustre, OF. mostre, moustre, F. montre, LL. monstra. See Muster, v. t.]
clack v. i.: To make a sudden, sharp noise, or a succesion of such noises, as by striking an object, or by collision of parts; to rattle; to click. [Prob. of imitative origin; cf. F.claquer to clap, crack, D. klakken, MHG. klac crack, Ir. clagaim I make a noise, ring. Cf. Clack, n., Clatter, Click.]
shots n.: The refuse of cattle taken from a drove.
probation n.: The act of proving; also, that which proves anything; proof. [L. probatio, fr. probare to try, examine, prove: cf. F. probation. See Prove.]
aboard adv.: On board; into or within a ship or boat; hence, into or within a railway car. [Pref. a- on, in + board.]
ghostly a.: Relating to the soul; not carnal or secular; spiritual; as, a ghostly confessor. [OE. gastlich, gostlich, AS. gastlic. See Ghost.]

Definitions and etymologies from Webster's Unabridged Dictionary, 1913.

About this text

Dauber VI is in the public domain. This text is taken from The Story of a Round-House, and Other Poems, Project Gutenberg ebook #40717; the transcription's header, footer and licence were removed and nothing else was changed. You may copy, print and reuse it freely.

Cite as: John Masefield, Dauber VI, in The Story of a Round-House, and Other Poems (1912), text of Project Gutenberg ebook #40717, Laurel, https://laurelpoetry.com/poem/masefield-round-house/dauber-vi.html, id L24980.

Form and metre

Dauber VI is 497 lines in 71 stanzas of 7 lines each. The rhyme scheme is ABABBCC, complete in 60 of its 71 stanzas; the stanza is the Rhyme royal. The metre is iambic pentameter, measured from the stress the words themselves fix (confidence 84%).

See other poems in rhyme royal, other poems in iambic pentameter.

Measured by Laurel's pipeline, not copied from a handbook: how stress and metre are counted, how rhyme is lettered, how a drifted rhyme is found. Where the dictionary cannot confirm a rhyme the letter is withheld, not guessed.

Rhyme words, stanza by stanza

The word that ends each line, lettered by the rhyme it makes; a dash is a line whose rhyme the dictionary could not confirm.

1 ABABBCC rolled^A · heaves^B · tolled^A · beeves^B · sheaves^B · gush^C · hush^C
2 ABABBCC down^A · gloom^B · brown^A · room^B · doom^B · silences^C · seas^C
3 ABABBCC there^A · sound^B · blare^A · resound^B · hound^B · bayed^C · made^C
4 -A-AABB lost · merged^A · ghost · urged^A · surged^A · speech^B · beach^B
5 ABABBCC still^A · arose^B · thrill^A · those^B · throes^B · ground^C · sound^C
6 ABABBCC long^A · spoke^B · wrong^A · stroke^B · woke^B · hear^C · sheer^C
7 ABABBCC edge^A · life^B · hedge^A · rife^B · knife^B · plain^C · brain^C
8 ABABBCC broke^A · dead^B · spoke^A · lead^B · red^B · appear^C · near^C
9 ABABBCC hell^A · ruddy^B · well^A · muddy^B · bloody^B · scattering^C · clattering^C
10 ABABBCC light^A · small^B · white^A · all^B · tall^B · mast^C · past^C
11 ABABBCC moan^A · blowing^B · overthrown^A · going^B · snowing^B · begun^C · sun^C
12 ABABBCC prison^A · grim^B · arisen^A · him^B · dim^B · track^C · black^C
13 ABABBCC deck^A · come^B · wreck^A · dumb^B · some^B · skirled^C · world^C
14 ABABBCC hauling^A · call^B · calling^A · all^B · haul^B · done^C · sun^C
15 ABABBCC hurry^A · sails^B · flurry^A · trails^B · tales^B · man^C · ran^C
16 ABABBCC fell^A · knee^B · mell^A · he^B · sea^B · hair^C · there^C
17 -A-AABB side · past^A · skied · fast^A · grassed^A · line^B · incline^B
18 ABABBCC behind^A · below^B · inclined^A · go^B · blow^B · on^C · gone^C
19 ABABBCC rags^A · stairs^B · flags^A · airs^B · theirs^B · run^C · won^C
20 ABABBCC laid^A · feeling^B · displayed^A · wheeling^B · reeling^B · jack^C · back^C
21 -A-AABB loose · bent^A · shoes · went^A · spent^A · yelled^B · held^B
22 ABABBCC whirl^A · disappeared^B · hurl^A · speared^B · careered^B · go^C · snow^C
23 ABABBCC cold^A · shriek^B · hold^A · cheek^B · speak^B · sound^C · downed^C
24 ABABBCC tell^A · died^B · hell^A · side^B · cried^B · hail^C · mail^C
25 ABABBCC gone^A · squall^B · on^A · mall^B · bawl^B · hounds^C · bounds^C
26 ABABBCC heard^A · slashed^B · bird^A · lashed^B · smashed^B · yells^C · bells^C
27 ABABBCC rang^A · cannonade^B · clang^A · decayed^B · splayed^B · fear^C · clear^C
28 ABABBCC wreck^A · below^B · deck^A · snow^B · blow^B · mast^C · blast^C
29 ABABBCC ice^A · stage^B · vice^A · rage^B · age^B · sail^C · tale^C
30 ABABBCC since^A · dreamed^B · prince^A · screamed^B · seemed^B · brain^C · pain^C
31 ABABBCC save^A · rags^B · gave^A · bags^B · shags^B · cried^C · died^C
32 ABABBCC buckled^A · strain^B · knuckled^A · again^B · chain^B · mast^C · passed^C
33 ABABBCC came^A · see^B · same^A · free^B · be^B · deck^C · wreck^C
34 -A-AABB lost · all^A · ghost · haul^A · fall^A · sea^B · he^B
35 ABABBCC felt^A · last^B · pelt^A · fast^B · mast^B · blare^C · there^C
36 ABABBCC go^A · hour^B · snow^A · cower^B · power^B · chain^C · again^C
37 ABABBCC rope^A · fold^B · grope^A · old^B · hold^B · spar^C · are^C
38 ABABBCC top^A · quiff^B · slop^A · stiff^B · whiff^B · seen^C · green^C
39 ABABBCC fall^A · fill^B · all^A · still^B · shrill^B · cream^C · stream^C
40 ABABBCC went^A · gave^B · spent^A · drave^B · wave^B · frozen^C · bosun^C
41 ABABBCC burst^A · held^B · cursed^A · yelled^B · felled^B · blind^C · unkind^C
42 ABABBCC out^A · freed^B · spout^A · need^B · bleed^B · coiled^C · boiled^C
43 ABABBCC saved^A · split^B · raved^A · lit^B · it^B · cloud^C · aloud^C
44 ABAB-CC below^A · aft^B · glow^A · craft^B · quaff'd · hot^C · tot^C
45 ABAB-CC stood^A · turn^B · good^A · burn^B · astern · heat^C · sweet^C
46 ABABBCC home^A · knew^B · some^A · brew^B · do^B · mate^C · wait^C
47 A-ABBCC hey^A · slops · today^A · drops^B · hops^B · girl^C · furl^C
48 ABAB-CC share^A · stripped^B · there^A · tripped^B · pipped · disarm^C · yardarm^C
49 ABABBCC crept^A · rail^B · leapt^A · gale^B · wail^B · veins^C · spains^C
50 ABA-BCC seas^A · teeth^B · ease^A · seethe · sheath^B · cold^C · old^C
51 ABABBCC sea^A · down^B · he^A · drown^B · gown^B · water^C · daughter^C
52 ABABBCC roll^A · rushed^B · bowl^A · gushed^B · hushed^B · damp^C · lamp^C
53 ABABBCC grinned^A · thought^B · wind^A · brought^B · caught^B · door^C · floor^C
54 ABABBCC go^A · lies^B · know^A · eyes^B · wise^B · soul^C · pole^C
55 ABABBCC undo^A · sat^B · blue^A · slat^B · pat^B · sweet^C · beat^C
56 ABABBCC in^A · recurred^B · skin^A · blurred^B · word^B · then^C · men^C
57 ABABBCC yard^A · jests^B · scarred^A · chests^B · breasts^B · wild^C · child^C
58 ABABBCC soon^A · cramp^B · tune^A · damp^B · stamp^B · shout^C · out^C
59 -A-AABB clicked · fell^A · wick'd · yell^A · hell^A · guess^B · dress^B
60 ABABBCC cold^A · thick^B · told^A · quick^B · stick^B · hey^C · away^C
61 ABABBCC bunk^A · past^B · drunk^A · mast^B · last^B · cold^C · hold^C
62 ABABBCC again^A · be^B · pain^A · sea^B · glee^B · rolled^C · cold^C
63 ABABBCC back^A · swore^B · slack^A · door^B · for^B · thing^C · ring^C
64 ABABBCC waist^A · holes^B · raced^A · rolls^B · souls^B · baboon^C · spoon^C
65 -A--ABB groped · sluiced^A · sloped · loosed · noosed^A · there^B · air^B
66 ABABBCC all^A · right^B · fall^A · delight^B · night^B · failed^C · quailed^C
67 ABABBCC hell^A · dismay^B · well^A · play^B · away^B · cards^C · yards^C
68 ABABBCC mind^A · back^B · whined^A · pack^B · clack^B · burst^C · first^C
69 ABABBCC man^A · come^B · began^A · dumb^B · drum^B · shots^C · clots^C
70 ABABBCC again^A · began^B · pain^A · span^B · man^B · wested^C · rested^C
71 ABABBCC rose^A · still^B · froze^A · chill^B · will^B · sun^C · done^C

Scansion, line by line

Each line with its syllable count and the stresses the words themselves fix: / stressed, ˘ unstressed, · a syllable the word leaves free and the metre decides. Read against iambic pentameter. How this is done.

Line	Syl.	Stress
All through the windless night the clipper rolled	10	···/˘··/˘·
In a great swell with oily gradual heaves	10	·····/˘/˘·
Which rolled her down until her time-bells tolled,	10	··········
Clang, and the weltering water moaned like beeves.	10	···/˘/˘···
The thundering rattle of slatting shook the sheaves,	11	·/˘/˘·/˘···
Startles of water made the swing ports gush,	10	/˘·/˘·····
The sea was moaning and sighing and saying "Hush!"	12	···/˘·/˘·/˘·
It was all black and starless. Peering down	10	·····/˘/˘·
Into the water, trying to pierce the gloom,	11	···/˘/˘····
One saw a dim, smooth, oily glitter of brown	11	·····/˘/˘··
Heaving and dying away and leaving room	11	/˘·/˘˘/·/˘·
For yet another. Like the march of doom	10	··˘/˘·····
Came those great powers of marching silences;	11	···/˘·/˘/˘˘
Then fog came down, dead-cold, and hid the seas.	10	··········
They set the Dauber to the foghorn. There	10	···/˘·····
He stood upon the poop, making to sound	10	······/˘··
Out of the pump the sailor's nasal blare,	10	·····/˘/˘·
Listening lest ice should make the note resound.	10	/˘·······/
She bayed there like a solitary hound	10	·····/˘·˘·
Lost in a covert; all the watch she bayed.	10	···/˘·····
The fog, come closelier down, no answer made.	11	········/˘·
Denser it grew, until the ship was lost.	10	/˘········
The elemental hid her; she was merged	10	··˘/˘·····
In mufflings of dark death, like a man's ghost,	10	·/˘·······
New to the change of death, yet thither urged.	10	·······/˘·
Then from the hidden waters something surged--	10	···/˘/˘/˘·
Mournful, despairing, great, greater than speech,	10	/˘˘/˘·/˘··
A noise like one slow wave on a still beach.	10	··········
Mournful, and then again mournful, and still	10	/˘··˘//˘··
Out of the night that mighty voice arose;	10	·····/˘·˘/
The Dauber at his foghorn felt the thrill.	10	·/˘·······
Who rode that desolate sea? What forms were those?	10	···/˘·····
Mournful, from things defeated, in the throes	10	/˘··˘/˘···
Of memory of some conquered hunting-ground,	10	·/˘··/˘/˘·
Out of the night of death arose the sound.	10	······˘/··
"Whales!" said the Mate. They stayed there all night long	10	··········
Answering the horn. Out of the night they spoke,	10	/˘········
Defeated creatures who had suffered wrong,	10	˘/˘/˘··/˘·
But were still noble underneath the stroke.	10	···/˘·˘/··
They filled the darkness when the Dauber woke;	10	···/˘··/˘·
The men came peering to the rail to hear,	10	···/˘·····
And the sea sighed, and the fog rose up sheer.	10	··········
A wall of nothing at the world's last edge,	10	···/˘·····
Where no life came except defeated life.	10	······˘/˘·
The Dauber felt shut in within a hedge,	10	·/˘·······
Behind which form was hidden and thought was rife,	11	·····/˘····
And that a blinding flash, a thrust, a knife	10	···/˘·····
Would sweep the hedge away and make all plain,	10	····˘/····
Brilliant beyond all words, blinding the brain.	10	/˘····/˘··
So the night passed, but then no morning broke--	10	·······/˘·
Only a something showed that night was dead.	10	/˘·/˘·····
A sea-bird, cackling like a devil, spoke,	10	···/˘˘··/·
And the fog drew away and hung like lead.	10	····˘/····
Like mighty cliffs it shaped, sullen and red;	10	·/˘···/˘··
Like glowering gods at watch it did appear,	10	·/˘·····˘/
And sometimes drew away, and then drew near.	10	·/··˘/····
Like islands, and like chasms, and like hell,	10	·/˘··/˘···
But always mighty and red, gloomy and ruddy,	12	·/˘/˘··/˘·/˘
Shutting the visible sea in like a well;	10	/˘·/˘·····
Slow heaving in vast ripples, blank and muddy,	11	·/˘··/˘··/˘
Where the sun should have risen it streaked bloody.	11	·····/˘··/˘
The day was still-born; all the sea-fowl scattering	11	·········/˘
Splashed the still water, mewing, hovering, clattering.	11	···/˘··/˘/˘
Then Polar snow came down little and light,	10	·/˘···/˘··
Till all the sky was hidden by the small,	10	·····/˘···
Most multitudinous drift of dirty white	11	········/˘·
Tumbling and wavering down and covering all--	10	/˘·/˘··/˘·
Covering the sky, the sea, the clipper tall,	10	/˘·····/˘·
Furring the ropes with white, casing the mast,	10	/˘····/˘··
Coming on no known air, but blowing past.	10	/˘·····/˘·
And all the air seemed full of gradual moan,	10	·······/˘·
As though in those cloud-chasms the horns were blowing	12	·····/˘···/˘
The mort for gods cast out and overthrown,	10	········˘/
Or for the eyeless sun plucked out and going.	11	···/˘····/˘
Slow the low gradual moan came in the snowing;	11	···/˘····/˘
The Dauber felt the prelude had begun.	10	·/˘··/··˘/
The snowstorm fluttered by; he saw the sun	10	·/·/˘·····
Show and pass by, gleam from one towering prison	11	·······/˘/˘
Into another, vaster and more grim,	10	··˘/˘·····
Which in dull crags of darkness had arisen	11	·····/˘·˘/˘
To muffle-to a final door on him.	10	·/˘··/˘···
The gods upon the dull crags lowered dim,	10	·······/˘·
The pigeons chattered, quarrelling in the track.	10	·/˘/˘/˘···
In the south-west the dimness dulled to black.	10	·····/˘···
Then came the cry of "Call all hands on deck!"	10	··········
The Dauber knew its meaning; it was come:	10	·/˘··/˘···
Cape Horn, that tramples beauty into wreck,	10	···/˘/˘···
And crumples steel and smites the strong man dumb.	10	·/˘·······
Down clattered flying kites and staysails: some	10	·/˘/˘·····
Sang out in quick, high calls: the fair-leads skirled,	10	··········
And from the south-west came the end of the world.	11	···········
"Caught in her ball-dress," said the Bosun, hauling	11	·········/˘
"Lee-ay, lee-ay!" quick, high, came the men's call;	10	··········
It was all wallop of sails and startled calling.	12	···/˘···/˘/˘
"Let fly!" "Let go!" "Clew up!" and "Let go all!"	10	··········
"Now up and make them fast!" "Here, give us a haul!"	11	···········
"Now up and stow them! Quick! By God! we're done!"	10	··········
The blackness crunched all memory of the sun.	10	·/˘··/˘···
"Up!" said the Mate. "Mizen top-gallants. Hurry!"	11	····/˘·/˘/˘
The Dauber ran, the others ran, the sails	10	·/˘··/˘···
Slatted and shook; out of the black a flurry	11	/˘·······/˘
Whirled in fine lines, tattering the edge to trails.	10	····/˘····
Painting and art and England were old tales	10	/˘···/˘···
Told in some other life to that pale man,	10	···/˘·····
Who struggled with white fear and gulped and ran.	10	·/˘·······
He struck a ringbolt in his haste and fell--	10	···/˘·····
Rose, sick with pain, half-lamed in his left knee;	10	··········
He reached the shrouds where clambering men pell-mell	10	·····/˘···
Hustled each other up and cursed him; he	10	/˘·/˘·····
Hurried aloft with them: then from the sea	10	/˘˘/······
Came a cold, sudden breath that made the hair	10	···/˘·····
Stiff on the neck, as though Death whispered there.	10	·······/˘·
A man below him punched him in the side.	10	··········
"Get up, you Dauber, or let me get past."	10	···/˘·····
He saw the belly of the skysail skied,	10	···/˘··/˘·
Gulped, and clutched tight, and tried to go more fast.	10	··········
Sometimes he missed his ratline and was grassed,	10	˘/········
Scraped his shin raw against the rigid line.	10	·······/˘·
The clamberers reached the futtock-shrouds' incline.	11	······/˘·˘/
Cursing they came; one, kicking out behind,	10	/˘···/˘···
Kicked Dauber in the mouth, and one below	10	·/˘·······
Punched at his calves; the futtock-shrouds inclined	10	·····/˘·˘/
It was a perilous path for one to go.	10	···/˘·····
"Up, Dauber, up!" A curse followed a blow.	10	·/˘···/˘··
He reached the top and gasped, then on, then on.	10	··········
And one voice yelled "Let go!" and one "All gone!"	10	··········
Fierce clamberers, some in oilskins, some in rags,	11	···········
Hustling and hurrying up, up the steep stairs.	10	/˘·/˘·····
Before the windless sails were blown to flags,	10	···/˘·····
And whirled like dirty birds athwart great airs,	10	···/˘·˘/··
Ten men in all, to get this mast of theirs	10	··········
Snugged to the gale in time. "Up! Damn you, run!"	10	··········
The mizen topmast head was safely won.	10	·/˘/˘··/˘·
"Lay out!" the Bosun yelled. The Dauber laid	10	·······/˘·
Out on the yard, gripping the yard, and feeling	11	····/˘···/˘
Sick at the mighty space of air displayed	10	···/˘···˘/
Below his feet, where mewing birds were wheeling.	11	·········/˘
A giddy fear was on him; he was reeling.	11	·/˘······/˘
He bit his lip half through, clutching the jack.	10	······/˘··
A cold sweat glued the shirt upon his back.	10	··········
The yard was shaking, for a brace was loose.	10	···/˘·····
He felt that he would fall; he clutched, he bent,	10	··········
Clammy with natural terror to the shoes	10	/˘·/˘/˘···
While idiotic promptings came and went.	10	··˘/˘/˘···
Snow fluttered on a wind-flaw and was spent;	10	·/˘·······
He saw the water darken. Someone yelled,	10	···/˘/˘/··
"Frap it; don't stay to furl! Hold on!" He held.	10	··········
Darkness came down--half darkness--in a whirl;	10	/˘···/˘···
The sky went out, the waters disappeared.	10	·····/˘·˘/
He felt a shocking pressure of blowing hurl	11	···/˘/˘·/˘·
The ship upon her side. The darkness speared	10	·······/˘·
At her with wind; she staggered, she careered,	10	·····/˘·˘/
Then down she lay. The Dauber felt her go;	10	·····/˘···
He saw his yard tilt downwards. Then the snow	10	·····/˘···
Whirled all about--dense, multitudinous, cold--	11	···········
Mixed with the wind's one devilish thrust and shriek,	10	·····/˘···
Which whiffled out men's tears, deafened, took hold,	10	··˘···/˘··
Flattening the flying drift against the cheek.	10	/˘·/˘·····
The yards buckled and bent, man could not speak.	10	··/˘······
The ship lay on her broadside; the wind's sound	10	·····/····
Had devilish malice at having got her downed.	11	·/˘/˘·/˘···
How long the gale had blown he could not tell,	10	··········
Only the world had changed, his life had died.	10	/˘········
A moment now was everlasting hell.	10	·/˘···˘/˘·
Nature an onslaught from the weather side,	10	/˘·/···/˘·
A withering rush of death, a frost that cried,	10	·/˘·······
Shrieked, till he withered at the heart; a hail	10	···/˘·····
Plastered his oilskins with an icy mail.	10	/˘·····/˘·
"Cut!" yelled his mate. He looked--the sail was gone,	10	··········
Blown into rags in the first furious squall;	10	·······/˘·
The tatters drummed the devil's tattoo. On	10	·/˘··/˘˘/·
The buckling yard a block thumped like a mall.	10	·/˘·······
The ship lay--the sea smote her, the wind's bawl	10	··········
Came, "loo, loo, loo!" The devil cried his hounds	10	·····/˘···
On to the poor spent stag strayed in his bounds.	10	··········
"Cut! Ease her!" yelled his mate; the Dauber heard.	10	·······/˘·
His mate wormed up the tilted yard and slashed,	10	·····/˘···
A rag of canvas skimmed like a darting bird.	11	···/˘···/˘·
The snow whirled, the ship bowed to it, the gear lashed,	11	···········
The sea-tops were cut off and flung down smashed;	10	··········
Tatters of shouts were flung, the rags of yells--	10	/˘········
And clang, clang, clang, below beat the two bells.	10	··········
"O God!" the Dauber moaned. A roaring rang,	10	···/˘··/˘·
Blasting the royals like a cannonade;	10	/˘·/˘··/˘˘
The backstays parted with a cracking clang,	10	···/˘··/˘·
The upper spars were snapped like twigs decayed--	10	·/˘·····˘/
Snapped at their heels, their jagged splinters splayed,	10	·˘·····/˘·
Like white and ghastly hair erect with fear.	10	···/˘·˘/··
The Mate yelled, "Gone, by God, and pitched them clear!"	10	··········
"Up!" yelled the Bosun; "up and clear the wreck!"	10	··········
The Dauber followed where he led: below	10	·/˘/˘·····
He caught one giddy glimpsing of the deck	10	···/˘/˘···
Filled with white water, as though heaped with snow.	10	···/˘·····
He saw the streamers of the rigging blow	10	···/˘··/˘·
Straight out like pennons from the splintered mast,	10	·······/˘·
Then, all sense dimmed, all was an icy blast	10	·······/˘·
Roaring from nether hell and filled with ice,	10	/˘·/˘·····
Roaring and crashing on the jerking stage,	10	/˘·/˘··/˘·
An utter bridle given to utter vice,	10	·/˘/˘/·/˘·
Limitless power mad with endless rage	10	/˘˘/˘··/˘·
Withering the soul; a minute seemed an age.	10	/˘···˘/···
He clutched and hacked at ropes, at rags of sail,	10	··········
Thinking that comfort was a fairy-tale	10	/˘·/˘··/˘·
Told long ago--long, long ago--long since	10	··˘/··˘/··
Heard of in other lives--imagined, dreamed--	10	···/˘·˘/˘·
There where the basest beggar was a prince	10	·····/˘···
To him in torment where the tempest screamed,	10	···/···/˘·
Comfort and warmth and ease no longer seemed	10	/˘·····/˘·
Things that a man could know: soul, body, brain,	10	·······/˘·
Knew nothing but the wind, the cold, the pain.	10	·/˘·······
"Leave that!" the Bosun shouted; "Crojick save!"	10	·····/˘···
The splitting crojick, not yet gone to rags,	10	·/˘·······
Thundered below, beating till something gave,	10	/˘··/˘·/˘·
Bellying between its buntlines into bags.	10	/˘········
Some birds were blown past, shrieking: dark, like shags,	10	·····/˘···
Their backs seemed, looking down. "Leu, leu!" they cried.	10	···/˘·····
The ship lay, the seas thumped her; she had died.	10	··········
They reached the crojick yard, which buckled, buckled	11	·······/˘/˘
Like a thin whalebone to the topsail's strain.	10	···/˘·····
They laid upon the yard and heaved and knuckled,	11	·········/˘
Pounding the sail, which jangled and leapt again.	11	/˘···/˘··˘/
It was quite hard with ice, its rope like chain,	10	··········
Its strength like seven devils; it shook the mast.	10	···//˘····
They cursed and toiled and froze: a long time passed.	10	··········
Two hours passed, then a dim lightening came.	10	·/····/˘˘·
Those frozen ones upon the yard could see	10	·/˘·······
The mainsail and the foresail still the same,	10	·/˘··/˘···
Still battling with the hands and blowing free,	10	·/˘····/˘·
Rags tattered where the staysails used to be.	10	·/˘·······
The lower topsails stood; the ship's lee deck	10	·/˘·······
Seethed with four feet of water filled with wreck.	10	·····/˘···
An hour more went by; the Dauber lost	10	·/˘····/˘·
All sense of hands and feet, all sense of all	10	··········
But of a wind that cut him to the ghost,	10	··········
And of a frozen fold he had to haul,	10	···/˘·····
Of heavens that fell and never ceased to fall,	10	·/˘···/···
And ran in smoky snatches along the sea,	11	···/˘/˘˘/··
Leaping from crest to wave-crest, yelling. He	10	/˘·····/˘·
Lost sense of time; no bells went, but he felt	10	··········
Ages go over him. At last, at last	10	/˘········
They frapped the cringled crojick's icy pelt;	10	··˘····/˘·
In frozen bulge and bunt they made it fast.	10	·/˘·······
Then, scarcely live, they laid in to the mast.	10	·/˘·······
The Captain's speaking trumpet gave a blare,	10	·/˘/˘/˘···
"Make fast the topsail, Mister, while you're there."	10	···/˘/˘···
Some seamen cursed, but up they had to go--	10	·/˘·······
Up to the topsail yard to spend an hour	11	···/˘····/˘
Stowing a topsail in a blinding snow,	10	/˘·/˘··/˘·
Which made the strongest man among them cower.	11	···/˘····/˘
More men came up, the fresh hands gave them power,	11	·········/˘
They stowed the sail; then with a rattle of chain	11	·······/˘··
One half the crojick burst its bonds again.	10	········˘/
They stowed the sail, frapping it round with rope,	10	····/˘····
Leaving no surface for the wind, no fold,	10	/˘·/˘·····
Then down the weather shrouds, half dead, they grope;	10	···/˘·····
That struggle with the sail had made them old.	10	·/˘·······
They wondered if the crojick furl would hold.	10	·/˘·······
"Lucky," said one, "it didn't spring the spar."	10	/˘···/˘···
"Lucky!" the Bosun said, "Lucky! We are!	10	/˘····/˘··
She came within two shakes of turning top	10	·······/˘·
Or stripping all her shroud-screws, that first quiff.	10	·/˘·······
Now fish those wash-deck buckets out of the slop.	11	·····/˘····
Here's Dauber says he doesn't like Cape Stiff.	10	·/˘··/˘···
This isn't wind, man, this is only a whiff.	11	·/˘····/˘··
Hold on, all hands, hold on!" a sea, half seen,	10	··········
Paused, mounted, burst, and filled the main-deck green.	10	·/˘·······
The Dauber felt a mountain of water fall.	10	·/··/˘·/˘·
It covered him deep, deep, he felt it fill,	10	·/˘·······
Over his head, the deck, the fife-rails, all,	10	··········
Quieting the ship, she trembled and lay still.	10	/˘···/˘···
Then with a rush and shatter and clanging shrill	11	·····/˘·/˘·
Over she went; he saw the water cream	10	·······/˘·
Over the bitts; he saw the half-deck stream.	10	··········
Then in the rush he swirled, over she went;	10	··········
Her lee-rail dipped, he struck, and something gave;	10	·······/˘·
His legs went through a port as the roll spent;	10	··········
She paused, then rolled, and back the water drave.	10	·······/˘·
He drifted with it as a part of the wave,	11	·/˘········
Drowning, half-stunned, exhausted, partly frozen,	11	/˘··˘/˘/˘/˘
He struck the booby hatchway; then the Bosun	11	···/˘/˘····
Leaped, seeing his chance, before the next sea burst,	10	·/········
And caught him as he drifted, seized him, held,	10	·····/˘···
Up-ended him against the bitts, and cursed.	10	·/˘·······
"This ain't the George's Swimming Baths," he yelled;	10	···/˘/˘···
"Keep on your feet!" Another grey-back felled	10	····˘/˘···
The two together, and the Bose, half-blind,	10	··˘/˘·····
Spat: "One's a joke," he cursed, "but two's unkind."	10	········˘/
"Now, damn it, Dauber!" said the Mate. "Look out,	10	···/˘·····
Or you'll be over the side!" The water freed;	10	·······/˘·
Each clanging freeing-port became a spout.	10	·/˘/˘·˘/··
The men cleared up the decks as there was need.	10	··········
The Dauber's head was cut, he felt it bleed	10	·/˘·······
Into his oilskins as he clutched and coiled.	10	··········
Water and sky were devils' brews which boiled,	10	/˘···/˘···
Boiled, shrieked, and glowered; but the ship was saved.	10	···/˘·····
Snugged safely down, though fourteen sails were split.	10	·/˘··//···
Out of the dark a fiercer fury raved.	10	·····/˘/˘·
The grey-backs died and mounted, each crest lit	10	·····/˘···
With a white toppling gleam that hissed from it	10	···/˘·····
And slid, or leaped, or ran with whirls of cloud,	10	··········
Mad with inhuman life that shrieked aloud.	10	··˘/˘···˘/
The watch was called; Dauber might go below.	10	····/˘····
"Splice the main brace!" the Mate called. All laid aft	10	··········
To get a gulp of momentary glow	10	·····/˘·˘·
As some reward for having saved the craft.	10	··˘/·/˘···
The steward ladled mugs, from which each quaff'd	10	·/˘/˘·····
Whisky, with water, sugar, and lime-juice, hot,	11	/˘·/˘/˘····
A quarter of a pint each made the tot.	10	·/˘·······
Beside the lamp-room door the steward stood	10	˘/·····/˘·
Ladling it out, and each man came in turn,	10	/˘········
Tipped his sou'-wester, drank it, grunted "Good!"	10	···/˘··/˘·
And shambled forward, letting it slowly burn:	11	·/˘/˘/˘·/˘·
When all were gone the Dauber lagged astern,	10	·····/˘·˘/
Torn by his frozen body's lust for heat,	10	···/˘/˘···
The liquor's pleasant smell, so warm, so sweet,	10	·/˘/˘·····
And by a promise long since made at home	10	···/˘·····
Never to taste strong liquor. Now he knew	10	/˘···/˘···
The worth of liquor; now he wanted some.	10	···/˘··/˘·
His frozen body urged him to the brew;	10	·/˘/˘·····
Yet it seemed wrong, an evil thing to do	10	·····/˘···
To break that promise. "Dauber," said the Mate,	10	···/˘/˘···
"Drink, and turn in, man; why the hell d'ye wait?"	10	··········
"Please, sir, I'm temperance." "Temperance are you, hey?	10	···/˘/˘···
That's all the more for me! So you're for slops?	10	··········
I thought you'd had enough slops for today.	10	····˘/··˘/
Go to your bunk and ease her when she drops.	10	··········
And--damme, steward! you brew with too much hops!	10	··/˘······
Stir up the sugar, man!--and tell your girl	10	···/˘·····
How kind the Mate was teaching you to furl."	10	·····/˘···
Then the Mate drank the remnants, six men's share,	10	·····/˘···
And ramped into his cabin, where he stripped	10	·····/˘···
And danced unclad, and was uproarious there.	11	······˘/˘˘·
In waltzes with the cabin cat he tripped,	10	·/˘··/˘···
Singing in tenor clear that he was pipped--	10	/˘·/˘·····
That "he who strove the tempest to disarm,	10	·····/˘·˘/
Must never first embrail the lee yardarm,"	10	·/˘·····/˘
And that his name was Ginger. Dauber crept	10	·····/˘/˘·
Back to the round-house, gripping by the rail.	10	·····/˘···
The wind howled by; the passionate water leapt;	10	·····/˘/˘·
The night was all one roaring with the gale.	10	·····/˘···
Then at the door he stopped, uttering a wail;	10	······/˘··
His hands were perished numb and blue as veins,	10	···/˘·····
He could not turn the knob for both the Spains.	10	··········
A hand came shuffling aft, dodging the seas,	10	···/˘·/˘··
Singing "her nut-brown hair" between his teeth;	10	/˘········
Taking the ocean's tumult at his ease	10	/˘·/˘/˘···
Even when the wash about his thighs did seethe.	10	/·········
His soul was happy in its happy sheath;	10	···/˘··/˘·
"What, Dauber, won't it open? Fingers cold?	10	·/˘··/˘/˘·
You'll talk of this time, Dauber, when you're old."	10	·····/˘···
He flung the door half open, and a sea	10	·····/˘···
Washed them both in, over the splashboard, down;	10	·······/˘·
"You' silly, salt miscarriage!" sputtered he.	10	·/˘·˘/˘/˘·
"Dauber, pull out the plug before we drown!	10	/˘········
That's spoiled my laces and my velvet gown.	10	···/˘··/˘·
Where is the plug?" Groping in pitch dark water,	11	····/˘···/˘
He sang between his teeth "The Farmer's Daughter."	11	·······/˘/˘
It was pitch dark within there; at each roll	10	··········
The chests slid to the slant; the water rushed,	10	·······/˘·
Making full many a clanging tin pan bowl	10	/˘·/·/˘···
Into the black below-bunks as it gushed.	10	··········
The dog-tired men slept through it; they were hushed.	10	··/·······
The water drained, and then with matches damp	10	·/˘····/˘·
The man struck heads off till he lit the lamp.	10	··········
"Thank you," the Dauber said; the seaman grinned.	10	···/˘··/˘·
"This is your first foul weather?" "Yes." "I thought	10	·····/˘···
Up on the yard you hadn't seen much wind.	10	·····/˘···
Them's rotten sea-boots, Dauber, that you brought.	10	·/˘··/˘···
Now I must cut on deck before I'm caught."	10	··········
He went; the lamp-flame smoked; he slammed the door;	10	··········
A film of water loitered across the floor.	11	···/˘/˘˘/··
The Dauber watched it come and watched it go;	10	·/˘·······
He had had revelation of the lies	10	····˘/˘···
Cloaking the truth men never choose to know;	10	/˘···/˘···
He could bear witness now and cleanse their eyes.	10	···/˘·····
He had beheld in suffering; he was wise;	10	··˘/·/˘···
This was the sea, this searcher of the soul--	10	·····/˘···
This never-dying shriek fresh from the Pole.	10	·/˘/˘·····
He shook with cold; his hands could not undo	10	········˘/
His oilskin buttons, so he shook and sat,	10	·/˘/˘·····
Watching his dirty fingers, dirty blue,	10	/˘·/˘/˘/˘·
Hearing without the hammering tackle slat,	10	/˘···/˘/˘·
Within, the drops from dripping clothes went pat,	10	·····/˘···
Running in little patters, gentle, sweet,	10	/˘·/˘/˘/˘·
And "Ai, ai!" went the wind, and the seas beat.	10	··········
His bunk was sopping wet; he clambered in.	10	···/˘··/˘·
None of his clothes were dry; his fear recurred.	10	········˘/
Cramps bunched the muscles underneath his skin.	10	···/˘·˘/··
The great ship rolled until the lamp was blurred.	10	··········
He took his Bible and tried to read a word;	11	···/˘······
Trembled at going aloft again, and then	10	/˘·/˘/˘/··
Resolved to fight it out and show it to men.	11	˘/·········
Faces recurred, fierce memories of the yard,	10	/˘˘/·/˘···
The frozen sail, the savage eyes, the jests,	10	·/˘··/˘···
The oaths of one great seaman, syphilis-scarred,	10	·····/˘/˘·
The tug of leeches jammed beneath their chests,	10	···/˘·····
The buntlines bellying bunts out into breasts.	10	···/˘·····
The deck so desolate-grey, the sky so wild,	10	···/˘·····
He fell asleep, and slept like a young child.	10	··˘/······
But not for long; the cold awoke him soon,	10	······˘/··

The first 400 of 497 lines; the reader marks them all.

The reader shows the same poem with its rhymes coloured and a stress row above each line, the notes beside their stanzas, and any word's definition on a tap; the analysis page takes the whole book apart. How every part of this site was made.

More by John Masefield

Salt-Water Ballads The Story of a Round-House, and Other Poems