Behind him lay the gray Azores, Behind the gates of Hercules; Before him not the ghost of shores, Before him only shorless seas. The good Mate said, Now we must pray, For lo! the very stars are gone. Brave Admiral, speak, what shall I say? Why say, 'Sail on! sail on! and on! My men grow mutinous day by day; My men grow ghastly wan and weak! The stout Mate thought of home; a spray Of salt wavewashed his swarthy cheek. What shall I say, brave Admiral, say, If we sight naught but seas at dawn? Why, you shall say at break of day, 'Sail on! sail on! sail on! and on!' They sailed. They sailed. Then spake the Mate; This mad sea shows its teeth tonight. He curls his lip, he lies in wait, With lifted teeth, as if to bite! Brave Admiral, say but one good word; What shall we do when hope is gone? The words leapt like a leaping sword; Sail on! sail on! sail on! and on! Then, pale and worn, he kept his deck And peered through darkness. Ah! that night Of all dark nights! And then a speck -- A light! A light! A light! A light! It grew, a starlit flag unfurled! It grew to be Time's burst of dawn. He gained a world; he gave that world Its greatest lesson: On! sail on!

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Oh! Pilot! 'tis a fearful night, There's danger on the deep, I'll come and pace the deck with thee, I do not dare to sleep. Go down, the sailor cried, go down, This is no place for thee; Fear not! but trust in Providence, Wherever thou mayst be. Ah! Pilot, dangers often met We all are apt to slight, And thou hast known these raging waves But to subdue their might. It is not apathy, he cried, That gives this strength to me, Fear not but trust in Providence, Wherever thou mayst be. On such a night the sea engulphed My father's lifeless form; My only brother's boat went down In just so wild a storm; And such, perhaps, may be my fate, But still I say to thee, Fear not but trust in Providence, Wherever thou mayst be.

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When he stood up, it was a very complicated motion. If the deck chairs on the Ship to the Sea of Night had opened up, they would have done so like that. It was like he was unfolding himself forever.

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I did not wish to take a cabin passage, but rather to go before the mast and on the deck of the world, for there I could best see the moonlight amid the mountains. I do not wish to go below now.

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One of these days in your travels, a guy is going to come up to you and show you a nice brand-new deck of cards on which the seal is not yet broken, and this guy is going to offer to bet you that he can make the Jack of Spades jump out of the deck and squirt cider in your ear. But, son, do not bet this man, for as sure as you are standing there, you are going to end up with an earful of cider.

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Look Johnny, Spig just joined the Navy. I'm married to it. I run the mess hall. I swab the deck. I chip the rust. You're afraid that they'll k...

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When the waves are round me breaking,As I pace the deck alone,And my eye in vain is seekingSome green leaf to rest uponWhat would not I give to wanderWhere my old companions dwellAbsence makes the heart grow fonder,Isle of Beauty, fare thee well

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His was the face you could never quite see, his the hands which dealt all the spades from a dead deck, his the eyes beyond the flames, his the grin from beyond the grave of the world.

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It's really all hands on deck to deal with this storm,

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Kent Abbott is in the on-deck circuit.

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Life is a deck of cards, play with what you are dealt.

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On an eastern-rig, the captain can look out and see all the men on deck. On the other, you can only look where you're going.

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To Robert Fulton What, sir, would you make a ship sail against the wind and currents by lighting a bonfire under her deck I pray you excuse me. I have no time to listen to such nonsense.

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Jesus Alou is in the on-deck circus.

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Men are like a deck of cards. You'll find the occasional king, but most are jacks.

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