Theodore Stephanides
London Seagull
Come sun, come rain, I roam the main
Where northern ice-bergs toss;
Or, if I please, in southern seas
I greet the albatross.

Should liners try to pass me by,
I let them puff and grind;
Then, up their wake, I overtake
And leave them far behind.

Sometimes for fun I taunt the sun
And climb towards its light;
Why make a fuss of Icarus? —
My wings stay all right!

When storms assail, I face the gale
And soar across the sky,
Where I delight to steer my flight
Into the whirlwind's eye.

But if too fast and fierce the blast.
Why then I draw the line;
I seek the shore and hail once more
The good old Serpentine!
(from "The Golden face", 1965)