About, about, in reel and rout And some in dreams assured were And every tongue thro' atter drouth Was wither'd at the root; We could not speak no more than if We had been choked with soot. Ah wel-a-day! what evil looks About my neck was hung. III. I saw a something in the Sky 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! It plung'd and tack'd and veer'd. With throat unslack'd, with black lips bak'd Ne could we laugh, ne wail: 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: 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 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 Rested the broad bright Sun; When that strange shape drove suddenly And strait the Sun was fleck'd with bars As if thro' a dungeon grate he peer'd Alas! (thought I, and my heart beat loud) How fast she neres and neres ! Are those ber Sails that glance in the Sun Like restless gossameres? B Are those ber 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? His bones were black with many a crack, They're patch'd with purple and green. Her lips are red, ber looks are free, Her skin is as white as leprosy, And she is far liker Death than he ; Her flesh makes the still air cold. |