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| A MARINER sat on the shrouds one night; | |
| The wind was piping free; | |
| Now bright, now dimmed was the moon-light pale, | |
| And the phosphor gleamed in the wake of the whale, | |
| As he floundered in the sea; | 5 |
| The scud was flying athwart the sky, | |
| The gathering winds went whistling by, | |
| And the wave as it towered, then fell in spray, | |
| Looked an emerald wall in the moonlight ray. | |
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| The mariner swayed and rocked on the mast, | 10 |
| But the tumult pleased him well; | |
| Down the yawning wave his eye he cast, | |
| And the monsters watched as they hurried past | |
| Or lightly rose and fell; | |
| For their broad, damp fins were under the tide, | 15 |
| And they lashed as they passed the vessel’s side, | |
| And their filmy eyes, all huge and grim, | |
| Glared fiercely up, and they glared at him. | |
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| Now freshens the gale, and the brave ship goes | |
| Like an uncurbed steed along; | 20 |
| A sheet of flame is the spray she throws, | |
| As her gallant prow the water ploughs, | |
| But the ship is fleet and strong: | |
| The topsails are reefed and the sails are furled, | |
| And onward she sweeps o’er the watery world, | 25 |
| And dippeth her spars in the surging flood; | |
| But there came no chill to the mariner’s blood. | |
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| Wildly she rocks, but he swingeth at ease, | |
| And holds him by the shroud; | |
| And as she careens to the crowding breeze, | 30 |
| The gaping deep the mariner sees, | |
| And the surging heareth loud. | |
| Was that a face, looking up at him, | |
| With its pallid cheek and its cold eyes dim? | |
| Did it beckon him down? did it call his name? | 35 |
| Now rolleth the ship the way whence it came. | |
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| The mariner looked, and he saw with dread | |
| A face he knew too well; | |
| And the cold eyes glared, the eyes of the dead, | |
| And its long hair out on the wave was spread. | 40 |
| Was there a tale to tell? | |
| The stout ship rocked with a reeling speed, | |
| And the mariner groaned, as well he need; | |
| For, ever, down as she plunged on her side, | |
| The dead face gleamed from the briny tide. | 45 |
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| Bethink thee, mariner, well, of the past,— | |
| A voice calls loud for thee:— | |
| There ’s a stifled prayer, the first, the last;— | |
| The plunging ship on her beam is cast,— | |
| Oh, where shall thy burial be? | 50 |
| Bethink thee of oaths that were lightly spoken, | |
| Bethink thee of vows that were lightly broken, | |
| Bethink thee of all that is dear to thee, | |
| For thou art alone on the raging sea: | |
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| Alone in the dark, alone on the wave, | 55 |
| To buffet the storm alone, | |
| To struggle aghast at thy watery grave, | |
| To struggle and feel there is none to save,— | |
| God shield thee, helpless one! | |
| The stout limbs yield, for their strength is past, | 60 |
| The trembling hands on the deep are cast, | |
| The white brow gleams a moment more, | |
| Then slowly sinks—the struggle is o’er. | |
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| Down, down where the storm is hushed to sleep, | |
| Where the sea its dirge shall swell, | 65 |
| Where the amber drops for thee shall weep, | |
| And the rose-lipped shell her music keep, | |
| There thou shalt slumber well. | |
| The gem and the pearl lie heaped at thy side, | |
| They fell from the neck of the beautiful bride, | 70 |
| From the strong man’s hand, from the maiden’s brow, | |
| As they slowly sunk to the wave below. | |
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| A peopled home is the ocean bed; | |
| The mother and child are there; | |
| The fervent youth and the hoary head, | 75 |
| The maid, with her floating locks outspread, | |
| The babe with its silken hair; | |
| As the water moveth they lightly sway, | |
| And the tranquil lights on their features play; | |
| And there is each cherished and beautiful form, | 80 |
| Away from decay, and away from the storm. | |
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