RE: ancient mariner

DravenRainrix · #1 (**permalink**) 06-08-08, 09:42 AM

this is a poem i wrote (it's very long)
it's a sort of continuation of the ancient mariners story:
hope you enjoy it.

The Ageless Sailor

I

It was on a night I met him,
He spoke in rhyme and verse,
Fated tales of curse and sin,
Telling to ease his curse.

His ageing face beneath a beard,
As grey as evening light,
His eyes filled with the past he feared,
He spoke into the night.

'Ears must hear my woeful tale,
He began in mournful tone,
'A soul of which is doomed to fail,
And heart that turns to stone'

I sat as though I were mesmerised,
He spoke of things he'd done,
He span tales of things he so despised,
Beneath the fading sun.

'Many years hence and we set to sail,
Our heading was due north,
But to ice and snow was to be our hail,
We'd lost our outset course.

Our bearings gone and compass broke,
We headed on ward still,
A storm raised and all of us it did soak,
We heard a call so shrill.

A mighty bird above our head,
The crew spoke out in cheer,
It took position in front and led,
And the edge of storm did near.

II

A realization dawned upon me,
I'd heard this tale before,
'Why old man lie so bluntly?
I'd heard this tale and more'

Un fazed was he and continued on,
My question fell on deaf ear,
I had no choice but listen to this con,
The tale of the marinere.

'The bird sat within thick mist atop all our sail,
I took from the deck my own crossbow,
And shot he that had been our hail,
I watched the bird fall to deck below.

My crew mates cried in woeful drone
But soon the mist did clear,
My crew mates sang in joyful tone,
As thunder ceased to hear.

The bird lay dead upon our deck,
A bolt protruding proud,
My shot so clean went through its neck,
Witnessed by the crowd.

The sea wind blew and on we went,
All hands now back at station,
A joyous song was to heaven sent,
The wind is our salvation.

The corpse of the bird was upon the boards,
I could see its lifeless eye,
The curse of the bird was upon the hoards,
My crew and friends alike.

The sea wind ceased as did our motion,
All hands now facing me,
We were stuck upon deep ocean,
With no wind nor moving sea.

III

Halt I say I know this tale I read it an age ago,
Again he didn't move nor sway,
But as his ageing face did glow,
I had no choice but stay

'Day upon day were sat so calm,
The sea as still as stone,
The curse of the bird I chose to harm,
With no chance to atone.

Fresh water had gone and turned to sand,
No slake from the deep sea,
The food had spoiled even the canned,
No chance of satiety.

Gone were the cheery songs we'd sung,
And the tidal move and toss,
About my weary neck was slung,
The corpse of the albatross.

I had no strength to fight them all,
But stared across the waves,
The corpse hung as though a shawl,
Its curse had made us slaves.

Upon the horizon I saw a shape,
A boat of which I was sure,
But my neck was gravelled to my nape,
No water had left it sore.

The ship shielded by a distant mist,
Still I could not call,
It moved so smooth without a list,
Nor any tide at all,

There was no wind within its sails,
No tide was at its bow,
My throat too dry to call out hails,
Toward us it moved somehow.

My throat was black I needed quench,
I bit my own forearm,
My throat slacked as I felt it drench,
I called out my hoarse alarm.
A ship! I cried with all my might,
Their attentions quickly drew,
This was indeed a welcome sight,
And our spirits swiftly grew.

The ship it seemed so dark and bare,
As it drew close aside,
Upon the deck was death himself,
She life in death as his bride.

Death with flesh stripped to the bone,
And eyes of deepest black,
She life in death an ageing crone,
With skin so loose and slack.

The two of those sat upon the deck,
And threw their boned dice,
Death turned to see the bird about my neck,
The air around us turned to ice.

IV

Please dear man I must implore,
The hour is getting late,
These lies you make me endure,
Are of someone else's fate.

Again this ageing man ignored me,
And I calmed back down again,
His eyes glazed as though can't see,
He continued to tell his pain.

'She Life in death had won the throw,
She stood and looked at me,
The price I'd pay I'll surely know,
My soul would be her fee.

Up stood Death with scythe in hand,
His ghastly presence known,
His hourglass running out of sand,
Held in hand of bone.

The sky turned into darkest night,
Each man cursed my name,
Death rose up in hellish flight,
Then the horror came.

Two hundred able bodied men,
I heard no cries at all,
Death flew over again and again,
In horror I watched them fall.

Then all at once I was left alone,
Dead eyes all watching me,
All I heard the own ships groan,
I cursed the very sea.

I hexed all that swam beneath,
And all that flew in sky,
In hells name I did bequeath,
I broke and began to cry.

I wept like a new born child,
That cries for mothers' teat,
I prayed for natures mercy mild,
And the rain began to sheet.

At my lowest ebb I blessed them all,
Those that swam and flew,
From the biggest down to the small,
Within the oceans blue.

I looked over rail in to the deep,
The albatross did fall,
I heard a noise that made heart leap,
I heard the winds sweet call.

I turned to set about the sails,
To get them raised up high,
I need them now to catch the gales,
Before they pass on by.

I saw a thing that shook my core,
Each corpse had filled with light,
I saw a thing that shocked me more,
Each corpse then stood upright

V

I knew I knew this very tale,
I'd read this very verse,
I allowed this man to regale,
This tale of natures curse

He continued on in such a vain,
As though he knew it well,
There's no way this mans the same,
As the man whose tale he sell.

'This crew of corpse then went to work,
They made not a single sound,
Not a single duty did they shirk,
Their light was all around.

The bows broke across the waves,
We headed ever north,
Night and day as though as slaves,
We kept our steady course.

Four full days we raced along,
The wind it never ceased,
Four full days that seemed so long,
Through the waves we creased.

Each of the crew with lifeless eyes,
Stood firmly at their post,
I heard neither nays nor ayes,
The howling wind at most.

On the fifth day I spotted land,
I prayed it was my home,
I hoped to escape this corpse filled band,
That sailed upon the foam.

A creak and groan that filled with fear,
I heard from decks below,
All the crew all gathered near,
Still filled with eerie glow.

The ship again as still as stone,
The crew encircled me,
Their lights now gone I'm left alone,
Am I finally set free?

Far away in the distant night,
I peer through the black,
I'm sure I see a row boats light,
The joy I can't hold back.

Now I can see the row boats crew,
One in holy bands,
The pilot his son were in there too,
I took the holy hands.

My ship it sank without a trace,
Not a single splinter did show,
My ship it sank at such a pace,
Sucked down to depths below.

VI

Salvation I had found at last,
I kneeled before the priest,
I told my tale of what had past,
How I'd killed natures beast.

The guilt it eased as I told,
Of sins that were my own,
He looked at me with eyes so cold
And told me to atone.

I prayed to the gods of the sea,
And to natures heart,
Please allow me to be free,
And a life anew to start.

A momentary peace washed o'er me,
And I thought it was the end,
But She life in death had not her fee,
My sin not so easy to mend.

Two days on my strength returned,
As too had my guilt,
A lesson I had quickly learned,
To tell of what I'd killed.

She life in death has one appease,
That's to pass my story on,
It serves as only little ease,
For guilt is never gone

VII

The aging man with story told,
Sat and seemed to smile,
His eyes shimmered far more bold,
We sat silent for a while.

I was sure the tale he told me,
Was an ancient rhyme I knew,
I asked him this out bluntly,
To tell me if it's true.

'Dear Patient man have no fear,
For I have a secret to tell,
For I am that very same marinere,
That took a trip through hell.

The one and same as the one you've heard,
I've lived this many a long year,
All because I killed that bird,
That showed us mercy dear.

I'm doomed to roam and tell my woe,
Forever with no salvation,
Each and every where I go,
Through the entire nation.

To show through my own woeful past,
That we should show the love,
To all the things that natures cast,
Whether it below or above.

So heed these words I beg of you,
And keep them close as skin,
Show love to all of Gods creations too,
For they're all our earthly kin

chodder · #2 (**permalink**) 06-08-08, 10:22 AM

really cant be arsed to read it. could pull two rounds off by the time id read it . so will stick to self pleasuring instead of reading poems. much more satisfying