"Are those her ribs through which the Sun 185 Did peer, as through a grate?
And is that Woman all her crew?
Is that a Death? and are there two?
Is Death that woman"s mate?
"Her lips were red, her looks were free, 190 Her locks were yellow as gold: Her skin was as white as leprosy, The Nightmare Life-in-Death[31] was she Who thicks man"s blood with cold.
"The naked hulk alongside came, 195 And the twain were casting dice; "The game is done! I"ve won, I"ve won!"
Quoth she, and whistles thrice.
"The Sun"s rim dips; the stars rush out; At one stride comes the dark;[32] 200 With far-heard whisper o"er the sea Off shot the spectre-bark.
"We listened and looked sideways up!
Fear at my heart, as at a cup, My life-blood seemed to sip! 205 The stars were dim, and thick the night, The steersman"s face by his lamp gleamed white; From the sails the dew did drip-- Till clomb[33] above the eastern bar The horned Moon, with one bright star 210 Within the nether tip.[34]
"One after one, by the star-dogged Moon, Too quick for groan or sigh, Each turned his face with a ghastly pang, And cursed me with his eye. 215
"Four times fifty living men, (And I heard nor sigh nor groan) With heavy thump, a lifeless lump, They dropped down one by one.
"The souls did from their bodies fly,-- 220 They fled to bliss or woe!
And every soul, it pa.s.sed me by, Like the whizz of my cross-bow!"
PART IV
"I fear thee,[35] ancient Mariner!
I fear thy skinny hand! 225 And thou art long, and lank, and brown,[36]
As is the ribbed sea-sand,
"I fear thee and thy glittering eye, And thy skinny hand, so brown."-- "Fear not, fear not, thou Wedding-Guest! 230 This body dropped not down.
"Alone, alone, all, all alone, Alone on a wide, wide sea!
And never a saint took pity on My soul in agony. 235
"The many men, so beautiful!
And they all dead did lie: And a thousand thousand slimy things Lived on; and so did I.
"I looked upon the rotting sea, 240 And drew my eyes away; I looked upon the rotting deck, And there the dead men lay.
"I looked to heaven and tried to pray; But or ever a prayer had gusht, 245 A wicked whisper came, and made My heart as dry as dust.
"I closed my lids, and kept them close, And the b.a.l.l.s like pulses beat; For the sky and the sea, and the sea and the sky,[37] 250 Lay like a load on my weary eye, And the dead were at my feet.
"The cold sweat melted from their limbs, Nor rot nor reek did they: The look with which they looked on me 255 Had never pa.s.sed away.
"An orphan"s curse would drag to h.e.l.l A spirit from on high; But oh! more horrible than that Is a curse in a dead man"s eye! 260 Seven days, seven nights, I saw that curse, And yet I could not die.
"The moving Moon went up the sky, And nowhere did abide: Softly she was going up, 265 And a star or two beside--
"Her beams bemocked the sultry main,[38]
Like April h.o.a.r-frost spread; But where the ship"s huge shadow lay, The charmed water burnt alway 270 A still and awful red.
"Beyond the shadow of the ship, I watched the water-snakes: They moved in tracks of shining white, And when they reared, the elfish light 275 Fell off in h.o.a.ry flakes.[39]
"Within the shadow of the ship I watched their rich attire: Blue, glossy green, and velvet black, They coiled and swam; and every track 280 Was a flash of golden fire.
"O happy living things! no tongue Their beauty might declare: A spring of love gushed from my heart, And I blessed them unaware: 285 Sure my kind saint took pity on me, And I blessed them unaware.
"The selfsame moment I could pray; And from my neck so free The Albatross fell off, and sank 290 Like lead into the sea."
PART V
"O sleep! it is a gentle thing, Beloved from pole to pole!
To Mary Queen the praise be given!
She sent the gentle sleep from heaven, 295 That slid into my soul.
"The silly[40] buckets on the deck, That had so long remained, I dreamt that they were filled with dew; And when I awoke, it rained. 300
"My lips were wet, my throat was cold, My garments all were dank;[41]
Sure I had drunken in my dreams, And still my body drank.
"I moved, and could not feel my limbs: 305 I was so light--almost I thought that I had died in sleep, And was a blessed ghost.
"And soon I heard a roaring wind: It did not come anear; 310 But with its sound it shook the sails, That were so thin and sere.
"The upper air burst into life!
And a hundred fire-flags sheen,[42]
To and fro they were hurried about! 315 And to and fro, and in and out, The wan[43] stars danced between.
"And the coming wind did roar more loud, And the sails did sigh like sedge; And the rain poured down from one black cloud, 320 The Moon was at its edge.
"The thick black cloud was cleft, and still The Moon was at its side: Like waters shot from some high crag, The lightning fell with never a jag, 325 A river steep and wide.
"The loud wind never reached the ship, Yet now the ship moved on!
Beneath the lightning and the Moon The dead men gave a groan. 330
"They groaned, they stirred, they all uprose, Nor spake, nor moved their eyes; It had been strange, even in a dream, To have seen those dead men rise.
"The helmsman steered, the ship moved on; 335 Yet never a breeze up blew; The mariners all gan work[44] the ropes, Where they were wont to do; They raised their limbs like lifeless tools-- We were a ghastly crew. 340
"The body of my brother"s son Stood by me, knee to knee: The body and I pulled at one rope, But he said nought to me."
"I fear thee, ancient Mariner!" 345 "Be calm, thou Wedding-Guest!
"Twas not those souls that fled in pain, Which to their corses came again, But a troop of spirits blest:
"For when it dawned--they dropped their arms, 350 And cl.u.s.tered round the mast; Sweet sounds rose slowly through their mouths, And from their bodies pa.s.sed.