SAMUEL TAYLOR COLERIDGE

��By the light of the Moon he beholdeth God's crea tures of the great calm.

��Their beauty and their happiness.

��He blesseth them in his heart.

��The spell begins to break.

��Beyond the shadow of the ship,

I watch'd the water-snakes:

They moved in tracks of shining white,

And when they rear'd, the elfish light

Fell off in hoary flakes.

Within the shadow of the ship

I watch'd their rich attire:

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:

A spring of love gush'd from my heart,

And I bless'd them unaware:

Sure my kind saint took pity on me,

And I bless'd 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.

��By grace of the holy Mother, the ancient Mariner is refreshed with rain.

��PART V

1 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, That slid into my soul.

The silly buckets on the deck,

That had so long remained,

I dreamt that they were fill'd with dew;

And when I awoke, it rain'd.

�� �