I'm not a seafarer, but took a risk and dove right in,
as if from cliff height and wound up floundering
in the dark abysmal depths of a roiling ocean.
From pages of 'The Rime of the Ancient Mariner,'
I wore the feathered omen draped around my shoulders.
When a marriage ends, the mast is cracked, mainsail tattered.
The bottle was his failing; but the burden was mine.
His raging storm was a whirlpool of self-loathing.
Certain to drown if I lingered with him much longer,
I was in need of a way out of my wretched life.
Frowns were etched into my brow from doleful despair,
as we sailed beneath stormy skies on a battered ship.
My cries were much louder than the roar of the ocean,
but he didn't seem to care whether he lived or died.
I desperately fought to keep him tethered to my side
but he was the killick that kept dragging me down.
I couldn't save us both, broke free from the chain,
and watched Coleridge's boa floating in the flotsam.
I stood on the beach, searching each crested wave
but when the tide ebbed, I walked away.
Poetry saved my soul
It was accidentally on purpose
I fell into it, and stayed seated
The teacher highly discouraged me
It was a graduate level course
He assured me I would flunk
And I did.
I loved it though
This course was the only course
I had taken all semester that I loved
In particular I loved Kublai Khan
And Rime of the Ancient Mariner
Both written by Samuel T Coleridge
Who with his best friend founded
The Romantic Movement in England.
Although he died in 1834,
I loved his words for they soothed me.
The sound of the teacher reading Coleridge’s words
Helped me get through my mandatory classes
Which were not soothing or interesting
I received my F, and gladly, for this class
With Coleridge’s word saved my life, and
Made graduation a possibility – making
The other classes palatable.
Modernity focuses a painted ship on the painted ocean
Only color and fashion, no air, no speed or no motion
It is not Coleridge's The Rime Of The Ancient Mariner
But modern ship like society's stagnant sea and river.
WATER LOO
Water water everywhere*
and oh how it did stink
water water everywhere
and all my undies pink
alone amid the rising tide
of baby toys and diapers
I stand in brownish bubbling surf
wondering which is riper
my mutinous crew has left the ship
fleeing from the putrid stench
I’ve also been abandoned by
my “ever-faithful” wench.
Alas as Captain I must endure
consequences of this blunder
hold my nose as I await
my rescue by - the plumber.
John G. Lawless
3/30/2016
My apologies to Samuel Taylor Coleridge for stealing this line from his poem
“The Rime of the Ancient Mariner”
Water, water everywhere
And all the dishes in sink.
Mud tracks smeared everywhere
Wiped away to return in a wink.
Food, food so much to make
Breakfast, lunch, supper.
Just diet, for God’s sake
Plus, you’re such a lousy tipper.
Heaps and heaps in the hamper
Sweaters, hoodies and jeans.
Every day it’s a damper
Walking into these monstrous scenes.
Inspired by the "ruined" first line of Samuel Taylor Coleridge's The Rime of the Ancient Mariner.
Looking for the formal definition, structure, and history of this poetry form? Visit the Poetry Dictionary entry below. Then return to explore how PoetrySoup members bring the form to life through their own poems.