The Sea Snakes

By Samuel Taylor Coleridge

Beyond the shadow of the ship
..I watch’d the water-snakes:
They mov’d in tracks of shining white;
And when they rear’d, the elfish light
..Fell off in hoary flakes.

Within the shadow of the ship
..I watch’d their rich attire:
Blue, glossy green, and velvet black
They coil’d and swam; and every track
..Was a flash of golden fire.

O happy living things! no tongue
..Their beauty might declare:
A spring of love gusht from my heart,
..And I bless’d them unaware!
Sure my kind saint took pity on me,
..And I bless’d them unaware.

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