The Rime of the Ancient Mariner

Day after day, day after day, 
We stuck, nor breath nor motion; 
As idle as a painted ship 
Upon a painted ocean. 

Water, water, every where, 
And all the boards did shrink; 
Water, water, every where, 
Nor any drop to drink. 

The very deep did rot: O Christ! 
That ever this should be! 
Yea, slimy things did crawl with legs 
Upon the slimy sea

The speaker at the Torquay Museum Society was Helen Boyles. Her talk was about Coleridge’s Westcountry  Inspirations. Helen is Secretary of the Friends of Coleridge Society. Afterwards I went down to the harbour to see if I could find an ancient mariner. There wasn’t even an old sailor but there was a big crane.