THE RIME OF THE ANCYENT MARINERE-4

IV.

"I fear thee, ancyent Marinere!

"I fear thy skinny hand;

"And thou art long and lank and brown

"As is the ribbd Sea-sand.

"I fear thee and thy glittering eye

"And thy skinny hand so brown"--

Fear not, fear not, thou wedding guest!

This body dropt not down.

Alone, alone, all all alone

Alone on the wide wide Sea;

And Christ would take no pity on

My soul in agony.

The many men so beautiful,

And they all dead did lie!

And a million million slimy things

Livd on--and so did I.

I lookd upon the rotting Sea,

And drew my eyes away;

I lookd upon the eldritch deck,

And there the dead men lay.

I lookd to Heaven, and tryd to pray;

But or ever a prayer had gusht,

A wicked whisper came and made

My heart as dry as dust.

I closd my lids and kept them close,

Till the balls like pulses beat;

For the sky and the sea, and the sea and the sky

Lay like a load on my weary eye,

And the dead were at my feet.

The cold sweat melted from their limbs,

Ne rot, ne reek did they;

The look with which they lookd on me,

Had never passd away.

An orphans curse would drag to Hell

A spirit from on high:

But O! more horrible than that

Is the curse in a dead mans eye!

Seven days, seven nights I saw that curse

And yet I could not die.

The moving Moon went up the sky

And no where did abide:

Softly she was going up

And a star or two beside--

Her beams bemockd the sultry main

Like morning frosts yspread;

But where the ships huge shadow lay,

The charmed water burnt alway

A still and awful red.

Beyond the shadow of the ship

I watchd the water-snakes:

They movd in tracks of shining white;

And when they reard, the el?sh light

Fell off in hoary ?akes.

Within the shadow of the ship

I watchd their rich attire:

Blue, glossy green, and velvet black

They coild and swam; and every track

Was a ?ash of golden ?re.

O happy living things! no tongue

Their beauty might declare:

A spring of love gusht from my heart,

And I blessd them unaware!

Sure my kind saint took pity on me,

And I blessd them unaware.

The self-same moment I could pray;

And from my neck so free

The Albatross fell off, and sank

Like lead into the sea.