III.
I saw a something in the Sky No bigger than my fist; 140 At first it seem"d a little speck And then it seem"d a mist: It mov"d and mov"d, and took at last A certain shape, I wist.
A speck, a mist, a shape, I wist! 145 And still it ner"d and ner"d; And, an it dodg"d a water-sprite, It plung"d and tack"d and veer"d.
With throat unslack"d, with black lips bak"d Ne could we laugh, ne wail: 150 Then while thro" drouth all dumb they stood I bit my arm and suck"d the blood And cry"d, A sail! a sail!
With throat unslack"d, with black lips bak"d Agape they hear"d me call: 155 Gramercy! they for joy did grin And all at once their breath drew in As they were drinking all.
She doth not tack from side to side-- Hither to work us weal 160 Withouten wind, withouten tide She steddies with upright keel.
The western wave was all a flame, The day was well nigh done!
Almost upon the western wave 165 Rested the broad bright Sun; When that strange shape drove suddenly Betwixt us and the Sun.
And strait the Sun was fleck"d with bars (Heaven"s mother send us grace) 170 As if thro" a dungeon grate he peer"d With broad and burning face.
Alas! (thought I, and my heart beat loud) How fast she neres and neres!
Are those _her_ Sails that glance in the Sun 175 Like restless gossameres?
Are those _her_ naked ribs, which fleck"d The sun that did behind them peer?
And are those two all, all the crew, That woman and her fleshless Pheere? 180
_His_ bones were black with many a crack, All black and bare, I ween; Jet-black and bare, save where with rust Of mouldy damps and charnel crust They"re patch"d with purple and green. 185
_Her_ lips are red, _her_ looks are free, _Her_ locks are yellow as gold: Her skin is as white as leprosy, And she is far liker Death than he; Her flesh makes the still air cold. 190
The naked Hulk alongside came And the Twain were playing dice; "The Game is done! I"ve won, I"ve won!"
Quoth she, and whistled thrice.
A gust of wind sterte up behind 195 And whistled thro" his bones; Thro" the holes of his eyes and the hole of his mouth Half-whistles and half-groans.
With never a whisper in the Sea Off darts the Spectre-ship; 200 While clombe above the Eastern bar The horned Moon, with one bright Star Almost atween the tips.
One after one by the horned Moon (Listen, O Stranger! to me) 205 Each turn"d his face with a ghastly pang And curs"d me with his ee.
Four times fifty living men, With never a sigh or groan, With heavy thump, a lifeless lump 210 They dropp"d down one by one.
Their souls did from their bodies fly,-- They fled to bliss or woe; And every soul it pa.s.s"d me by, Like the whiz of my Cross-bow. 215
IV.
"I fear thee, ancyent Marinere!
"I fear thy skinny hand; "And thou art long, and lank, and brown, "As is the ribb"d Sea-sand.
"I fear thee and thy glittering eye 220 "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; 225 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 230 Liv"d on--and so did I.
I look"d upon the rotting Sea, And drew my eyes away; I look"d upon the eldritch deck, And there the dead men lay. 235
I look"d to Heav"n, and try"d to pray; But or ever a prayer had gusht, A wicked whisper came and made My heart as dry as dust.
I clos"d my lids and kept them close, 240 Till the b.a.l.l.s 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, 245 Ne rot, ne reek did they; The look with which they look"d on me, Had never pa.s.s"d away.
An orphan"s curse would drag to h.e.l.l A spirit from on high: 250 But O! more horrible than that Is the curse in a dead man"s eye!
Seven days, seven nights I saw that curse, And yet I could not die.
The moving Moon went up the sky, 255 And no where did abide: Softly she was going up And a star or two beside--
Her beams bemock"d the sultry main Like morning frosts yspread; 260 But where the ship"s huge shadow lay, The charmed water burnt alway A still and awful red.
Beyond the shadow of the ship I watch"d the water-snakes: 265 They mov"d in tracks of shining white; And when they rear"d, the elfish light Fell off in h.o.a.ry flakes.
Within the shadow of the ship I watch"d their rich attire: 270 Blue, glossy green, and velvet black They coil"d and swam; and every track Was a flash of golden fire.
O happy living things! no tongue Their beauty might declare: 275 A spring of love gusht from my heart, And I bless"d them unaware!
Sure my kind saint took pity on me, And I bless"d them unaware.
The self-same moment I could pray; 280 And from my neck so free The Albatross fell off, and sank Like lead into the sea.
V.
O sleep, it is a gentle thing, Belov"d from pole to pole! 285 To Mary-queen the praise be yeven She sent the gentle sleep from heaven That slid into my soul.
The silly buckets on the deck That had so long remain"d, 290 I dreamt that they were fill"d with dew And when I awoke it rain"d.
My lips were wet, my throat was cold, My garments all were dank; Sure I had drunken in my dreams 295 And still my body drank.
I mov"d and could not feel my limbs, I was so light, almost I thought that I had died in sleep, And was a blessed Ghost. 300
The roaring wind! it roar"d far off, It did not come anear; But with its sound it shook the sails That were so thin and sere.
The upper air bursts into life, 305 And a hundred fire-flags sheen To and fro they are hurried about; And to and fro, and in and out The stars dance on between.
The coming wind doth roar more loud; 310 The sails do sigh, like sedge: The rain pours down from one black cloud And the Moon is at its edge.
Hark! hark! the thick black cloud is cleft, And the Moon is at its side: 315 Like waters shot from some high crag, The lightning falls with never a jag A river steep and wide.
The strong wind reach"d the ship: it roar"d And dropp"d down, like a stone! 320 Beneath the lightning and the moon The dead men gave a groan.