Poem: If Ever You've Lived on an Island

Somehow I ran across these poems while searching for something else.  Don't you just love the internet at times??  I relate so much to the first one, which some say could have been inspired by the one following it.  But this speaks to the call of the island to my heart, that actually has been calling all my life.


If Ever You've Lived on an Island
   by J. Earnhart 1992
If ever you’ve lived on an island
if ever you’ve lived by the sea;
You’ll never return to the mainland
once your spirit has been set free.
If ever you’ve smelled the ocean
or tasted the salt in the air;
You’ll know you’ve discovered a haven
that is uncommon, precious and rare.
If ever you’ve seen the whales play
or watched the eagles in flight;
You’ll remember, again, why you live here
and why it feels so right.
If ever you’ve seen the sunset
as the ferry passed the shore;
You’ve seen the beauty of the island
that will be with you forever more.
If ever you’ve heard the seagulls
the waves, a foghorn, the winds;
Then you’ve heard the song of the island
and the peaceful message it sends.
Indeed, if you live on an island
if you’re lucky to live by the sea;
You’ll never return to the mainland
as your spirit has been set free.

 

If Once You've Slept on an Island

If once you have slept on an island
You'll never be quite the same;
You may look as you looked the day before
And go by the same old name,
You may bustle about in street and shop
You may sit at home and sew,
But you'll see blue water and wheeling gulls
Wherever your feet may go.
You may chat with the neighbors of this and that
And close to your fire keep,
But you'll hear ship whistle and lighthouse bell
And tides beat through your sleep.
Oh! you won't know why and you can't say how
Such a change upon you came,
But once you have slept on an island,
You'll never be quite the same.

Rachel Lyman Field