The Rime by the Ancient Doctor
I know of an Ancient Mariner
And his story of the Sea
A passage of storm and fury
And Doldrums that there be.
Because of the Ancient Mariner
And a crossbow that he used;
A bird of peace, a bird of the oceans
Lay dead for those to muse.
A curse of insomnia,
For there are no dreams,
A curse befallen upon me,
To death for all it seems.
Penance by snakes, Penance by beauty
Penance from the shimmering below,
Altered dreams arising from slumber,
Similar to what I know.
From bitter despair,
To a partial reprieve,
From throats so dry,
And no water for me.
For that was then,
But the story lives on,
Respect for God’s creatures,
Respect for their home.
Pollution, pollution everywhere,
A cleansing of the seas
A fate of the Mariner if not,
A fate so bad to see.
The Treasures within,
The Treasures without,
The Treasures that there be
May one day be gone forever, may one day be lost from thee.
I am an Ancient Doctor
I stoppeth more than three
With a short gray beard and glistening eyes
Wherefore I stoppeth thee,
If you are a child of the Ocean
And are the likes of Me,
Come soak in this knowledge, discover what is
Discover the depths with me.
Evert Randall Bentley, DO, MS, FACOI
Inspired by “The Rime of the Ancient Mariner” (text of 1834); By Samuel Taylor Coleridge poetryfoundation.org
