We also had to memorize “Sea Fever” by John Maysfield.
Kid after kid went up to the front of the class and recited it. Everybody was so bored and tired that when i went up to recite it, I said “Sea Fever, by Jayne Mansfield”, and nobody batted an eye!
I would have loved to see her recite that poem. Wearing the proper uh dress of course. "I must go down to the sea again..."