The Rime of the Ancient Mariner（四）

    "I fear thee， ancient mariner¹！

    I fear thy skinny hand！

    And thou art long， and lank²， and brown，

    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！

    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.

    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，

    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 gushed³，

    A wicked whisper came， and made

    My heart as dry as dust.

    I closed 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，

    Nor rot nor reek⁴ did they：

    The look with which they looked on me

    Had never passed away.

    An orphan's curse would drag to hell

    A spirit from on high；

    But oh！ 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，

    And nowhere did abide⁵：

    Softly she was going up，

    And a star or two beside——

    Her beams bemocked the sultry main，

    Like April hoar-frost spread；

    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 watched the water snakes：

    They moved in tracks of shining white，

    And when they reared， the elfish light

    Fell off in hoary⁶ flakes⁷.

    Within the shadow of the ship

    I watched their rich attire⁸：

    Blue， glossy⁹ green， and velvet¹⁰ black，

    They coiled and swam； and every track

    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 unaware¹¹：

    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

    Like lead into the sea.