Mommy, I don't wanna go to sea,

All that water sloshing round of me,

Living in a tiny boat –

How do I know it's gonna float?

Mommy, I don't wanna go to sea!

Mommy, I don't wanna be this free,

All that fresh sea air is killing me!

Hauling sail and pulling rope,

I do not know how I will cope!

Mommy, what if I fall in the sea?

Mommy, what if I should bang my knee?

What if I get caught upon a lee?

What if my all my reefs fall out

And I can't go, or come about?

Mommy, what if I get lost at sea?

Mommy, I won't find my way at sea!

That sextant stuff is way to high for me!

How will I know what stars are what,

Or how to bring them down to plot,

Or lift up the horizon of the sea?

Mommy, I'll get queasy on the sea!

I'll be so sick I'll lose reality!

I'll hurl and puke and weep and pout,

And what if he should scream and shout?

Mommy, what if I get sick at sea?

Mommy, I'll be back in time for tea,

No-one's gonna get around of me,

I'm just gonna tell him that

There is no chance in hell, in fact,

That I am gonna live upon the sea!

Mommy, we went sailing on the sea,

To show me just the way it's gonna be.

I did see a humpback whale

And watched a starry phosphor trail

And Mommy, it was fun out on the sea!

Mommy, it's so peaceful on the sea!

No-one round to fret and bother me!

The storms are quite a horror

But they're over by tomorror

And the calm and all its charm are back at sea.

Mommy, did I tell you 'bout the sea?

The magic and the flowing mystery?

The moonlight on the water

After midnight's past the quarter,

And the stars are liquid diamonds in the sea?

Mommy, you should see those big palm trees!

A dolphin came and played among my knees!

The corals here are big and bright,

The tropic fish are quite a sight,

And every day is paradise at sea!

Mom, this is a world of fantasy,

Adventure, learning, and discovery –

I saw the heads on Easter Isle

(You'd think they could've made 'em smile!)

It's really just one great big rockery!

Pacific Isles are paradise at sea!

Galapagos is all it claims to be,

I saw Bali dancers on the beach,

And Machu Piccu's upward reach,

And Greece and Turkey, Spain and Italy!

And Mommy, there's a world beneath the sea!

Mermaid tails and great octo-pu-ssee!

Mahi mahi, squids, wahoo!

Cute angel fish, and parrots, too!

- I think I see Atlantis in the sea!

Mommy, I just love it on the sea!

A sailor's is the only life for me!

I made footprints on virgin sands

And I'm exploring foreign lands,

And Mom – I won't be back in time for tea!

And Mommy, I feel Jesus out at sea,

It's where I get as close as I can be

To seeing God in all His power,

And serving Him's my finest hour,

And I just know He's called me to the sea.

And Mom, if I should ever die at sea,

Remember it's the place I longed to be.

I'm happy if the way I go

Is doing what I wanted so –

'Cos Mom, I really love to be at sea!

Written with deepest love for my mother, Willy Howe,

On 19 April 2006, shortly before we set sail on our Great Adventure!

– Jo Holloway, sailing vessel Chamchela.