The Nightmares of the Sea

I've felt quite inspired and oddly identified with this legendary poem by Samuel Taylor Coledridge, The Rime of the ancient mariner, I can not tell why. 

Many interpretations have been made about this poem, mostly about Catholic mysticism, some believe it's a metaphor about the original sin in Eden and the later repentance of the mariner, seen by some as baptism. Others suggest that this poem is mainly autobiographical, depicting Coledridge's own loneliness . Jerome MacGann says that its function "was to illustrate a significant continuity of meaning  between cultural phenomena that seemed as diverse as pagan superstitions, catholic theology, arisotelian science and contemporary philological theory, to name only a few of the work's material"... Any way, this poem is undoubtedly grand and magnificent as its sadness tearing. I'll leave you with the Iron Maiden lyrics of the song version, which I consider to be quite accurate and synthetical, more hoping to provoke interest in the poem  than giving it here myself. 

The Rime of the Ancient Mariner

(by Iron Maiden, based upon the poem by Samuel Taylor Coledridge)

Hear the rime of the Ancient Mariner

see his eyes as he stops one of three,

mesmerizes one of the wedding guests

"stay here and listen to the nightmares of the sea!"

And the music plays on, as the bride passes by, 

caught by his spell and the mariner tells his tale:

"Driven south to the land of the snow and ice,

to a place where nobody's been,

through the snow fog flies on the Albatross

hailed in God's name, hoping good luck it brings.

As the ships sails on, back to the north,

through the snow and ice and the albatross follows on..."

The Mariner kills the bird of good omen,

his shipmates cry against what he's done,

but when the fog clears, they justify him,

and make themselves a part of the crime.

Sailing on and on and north across the sea...

Sailing on and on and north 'till all is calm...

The Albatross begins with it's vengeance,

a terrible curse, a thirst has begun,

his shipmates blame bad luck on the Mariner,

about his neck, the dead bird is hung...

And the curse goes on and on at sea...

"And the curse goes on and on for them and me...

Day after day, day after day

we stuck nor breath nor motion,

as idle as a painted ship upon a painted ocean,

water, water everywhere

and all the boards did shrink!

water, water everywhere

and not a drop to drink!"

There calls the Mariner,

there comes a ship over the line...

But how can she sail with no wind in her sails and no tide?

See... onward she comes,

onward she nears out of the sun...

See... she has no crew,

she has no life..."wait, but here's two!"

Death and she life in death,

they throw their dice for the crew,

she wins the mariner and he belongs to her now.

Then, crew one by one

they drop down dead, two hundred men,

she... she, life in death,

she lets him live, her chosen one.

"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.

Four times fifty living men

(and I hear nor sigh nor groan)

with heavy thump, a lifeless lump,

they dropped down one by one."

The curse... it lives on in their eyes,

the mariner wished he'd died

along with the sea creatures,

but they lived on, so did he.

And by the light of the moon

he prays for their beauty, not doom,

with heart he blesses them...

God's creatures all of them too.

Then the spell starts to break,

the Albatross falls from his neck,

sinks down like lead into the sea,

then, down in falls, comes the rain.

Hear the groans of the long dead sea men,

see them stir and they start to rise,

bodies lifted by good spirits:

none of them speaks and they're lifeless in their eyes.

And revenge still is sought, penance starts again,

cast into a trance and the nightmare carries on...

Now the curse is finally lifted

and the Mariner sights his home,

spirits go from the long dead bodies,

form their own light and the Mariner's left alone. 

And then a boat came sailing towards him,

it was a joy he could not believe!

The pilot's boat: his son, and the hermit,

penance of life will fall unto him.

And the ship sinks like lead into the sea...

And the hermit shrives the Mariner of his sins...

The Mariner's bound to tell of his story,

to tell his tale wherever he goes,

to teach God's word by his own example:

that we must love all thing that God made...

And the wedding guests, a sad and wiser man,

And the tale goes on and on...