Wander-Thirst

"Beyond the East, the sunrise,

Sunrise, Nags Head, Bodie Island, The Outer Banks, North Carolina

Beyond the West, the sea,

Seals on Goat Rock Beach, Russian River Estuary, Pacific Ocean, Sonoma County, CA 

And East and West the wander-thirst that will not let me be;
It works in me like madness, dear, to bid me say good-bye;

Climbing up to the cliff dwellings, Bandelier National Monument, Los Alamos, NM

For the seas call, and the stars call, and oh! the call of the sky!

Evening star, Venus, Quiet Harbor, Creston, January 1, 2015

I know not where the white road runs;

Natural Bridge State Resort Park, Slade, KY

Nor what the blue hills are;

Blue Ridge Mountains, NC

But a man can have the sun for a friend, and for his guide a star;

Kathryn, ND, Sheyenne Scenic Byway

And there's no end of voyaging, when once the voice is heard,

Rainbow at Cumberland Falls State Park KY

For the rivers call, and the roads call,

The One-Hundred and Two River, Taylor Co., IA

And, oh! the call of the bird!

Peacock, Ash Lawn-Highland, Home of James Monroe, Charlottesville, VA

Yonder the long horizon lies, and there by night and day

Big Horn Mountains, WY 

The old ships draw to home again,

Freighter off Sullivan's Island, SC

The young ships sail away;

Kilkee (Cill Chaoi) Harbor, County Clare, Ireland (Protected from the Atlantic Ocean by the Duggerna Reef)

And come I may, but go I must, 

Sabino Creek Canyon, Santa Catalina Mountains, Tucson, AZ  

And, if men ask you why, 
You may put the blame on the stars and the sun

Spider Rocks, Canyon de Chelly National Monument, Chinle, AZ

And the white road

Burnside's Bridge, Antietam National Battlefield, Sharpsburg, MD

And the sky!"

Outer Banks, NC

(Wander-Thirst poem by Gerald Gould 1885-1936, Norwich, England)