Hewett's original poem differs in several respects from the song it became - posted above by Bob. Here is how it appears in a collection of her poems:THE SAILOR HOME FROM THE SEA
(Dorothy Hewett)
O Cock of the morning
With a dream in his hand
My love has come home
To this wonderful land
He bursts through the door
With his eyes like the sun
And his kitbag crammed full
Of the treasures he's won
There's pearl shell from Broome
And a tall Darwin tale
And coral and clam
And the jaws of a whale
And my kitchen is full
Of the smell of the sea
And the leaping green fishes
My love brings to me
O tumble your treasures
From Darwin to Broome
And fill with your glory
This straight little room
With the sun in the morning
Ablaze on his chest
My love has come home
From the north of nor'west
And deep in our bed
We'll love and we'll lie
We'll kiss and we'll listen
To the rain in the sky
Warm as the summer
We've hived winter long
My love has come home
Like King Solomon's song
Source: Dorothy Hewett 'Collected Poems 1940-1955' Fremantle Arts Centre Press 1955.
Note: the dedication to this collection of her poems is:To Merv Lilley
In wonderment at a partnership
That has endured for 35 years
--Stewie.