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? 2. 'The bridegroom's doors are opened wide, And I am next of kin : The guests are met, the feast is set: 3. He holds him with his glittering eye- 4. The wedding-guest sat on a stone: And thus spake on that ancient man, The bright-eyed Mariner. 5. 'The ship was cheered, the harbour cleared, Merrily did we drop Below the kirk, below the hill, Below the light-house top. 6. 'The sun came up upon the left, Out of the sea came he; And he shone bright, and on the right 7. 'Higher and higher every day, Till over the mast at noon The wedding-guest here beat his breast, 8. The bride hath paced into the hall— Nodding their heads, before her goes 9. The wedding-guest he beat his breast, 10. 'And now the storm-blast came, and he 11. 'With sloping masts and dipping prow, The ship drove fast, loud roared the blast, 12. 'And now there came both mist and snow, 13. 'And through the drifts the snowy clifts Nor shapes of men nor beasts we ken- 14. 'The ice was here, the ice was there, The ice was all around; It cracked and growled, and roared and howled, Like noises in a swound! 15. 'At length did cross an albatross, As if it had been a Christian soul, 16. 'It ate the food it ne'er had ate, 17. 'And a good south wind sprung up behind; The albatross did follow, And every day, for food or play, Came to the mariners' hollo! 18. 'In mist or cloud, on mast or shroud, It perched for vespers nine; Whiles all the night, through fog-smoke white, Glimmered the white moonshine.' 19. 'God save thee, ancient Mariner, From the fiends that plague thee thus ! Why look'st thou so?' I shot the albatross. 20. 'With my cross-bow 'And I had done a hellish thing, And it would work 'em woe; "Ah wretch !" said they, "the bird to slay 21. 'Nor dim nor red, like God's own head, The glorious sun uprist: Then all averred I had killed the bird That brought the fog and mist. ""Twas right," said they, "such birds to slay That bring the fog and mist." 22. '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. 23. 'Day after day, day after day, We stuck, nor breath nor motion; As idle as a painted ship Upon a painted ocean. 24. 'Water, water everywhere, And all the boards did shrink; Water, water everywhere, Nor any drop to drink. 25. 'About, about, in reel and rout, The death-fires danced at night; The water, like a witch's oils, Burned green, and blue, and white. 26. 'And every tongue, through utter drought, Was withered at the root; We could not speak, no more than if We had been choked with soot. 27. 'Ah, well-a-day! what evil looks Had I from old and young! Instead of the cross the albatross About my neck was hung. |