THE RIME OF THE ANCIENT MARINER, excerpts
It is an ancient Mariner
And he stoppeth one of three
"By thy long gray beard and glittering eye,
Now wherefore stopp'st thou me?
He holds him with his glittering eye
The Wedding Guest stood still,
And listens like a three years' child
The Mariner hath his will
The ship was cheered, the harbor cleared,
Merrily did we drop
Below the kirk, below the hill,
Below the lighthouse top.
The Sun came up upon the left
Out of the sea came he!
And he shone bright, and on the right
Went down into the sea
And now the storm-blast came, and He
Was tyrannous and strong;
He struck with his o'ertaking wings,
And chased us south along.
At length did cross and Albataross,
Throught the fog it came;
As if it had been a Christian soul,
We hailed it in God's name
It ate the food it ne'er had eat,
And round and round it flew
The ice did split with a thunder-fit
The helmsman steered us through
A good south wind sprung up behind
The Albatross did follow
And every day, for food or play,
Came to the mariners' hollo!
In mist or cloud, on mast or shroud
It perched for vespers nine
Whiles all the night, through fog-smoke white
Glimmered the white Moon-shine
God save the, ancient mariner!
From the fiends that plague thee thus
Why look'st thou so?
With my crossbow, I shot the Albatross
And I had done a hellish thing
And it would work 'em woe
For all averred I had killed the bird
That made the breeze to blow.
Ah wretch: said they, the bird to slay
That made the breeze to blow
Down dropped the breeze, the sails dropped down
Twas sad as sad could be
And we did speak only to break
The silence of the sea!
Day after day, day after day
We stuck, nor breath nor motion
As Idle as a painted ship
Upon a painted ocean
Water, water, everywhere
And all the boards did shrink
Water, water, everywhere
Nor any drop to drink
Samuel Taylor Coleridge |
