"Song of The Master and Boatswain" by W.H. Auden

[winifredatwell]

So evocative a reading would have caused Auden to crease with smiles. The last stanza is one of the great modernist lyrics.

[MrPostwork]

Oh come on. This is about the sailor loving the sea before all else and, in the way of the true fanatic, realising that normal human relations, especially with those who fake it for money, will never substitute for the object of his fanatacism.

[Ahavati1]

The past is bitter salt when looking back, and regret is a sinking ship with no raft. A genuine person realizes that there are little substitutes in between which can replace sincerity, except truth and peace. A wise person recognizes the difference and would rather sleep alone then settle for less.