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Classic and Contemporary Poetry


THE MARINER by ROBERT SOUTHEY

Poet Analysis

First Line: O GOD! HAVE MERCY IN THIS DREADFUL HOUR
Last Line: O GOD! HAVE MERCY ON THE MARINER!
Subject(s): GOD; MERCY; PRAYER; SAILING & SAILORS; SEA; SONNET (AS LITERARY FORM); STORMS; OCEAN;

O God! have mercy in this dreadful hour,
On the poor mariner; In comfort here,
Safe sheltered as I am, I almost fear
The blast that rages with resistless power.
What were it now to toss upon the waves,
The maddened waves, and know no succor near;
The howling of the storm alone to hear,
And the wild sea that to the tempest raves;
To gaze amid the horrors of the night,
And only see the billow's gleaming light;
Then, in the dread of death, to think of her,
Who, as she listens sleepless to the gale,
Puts up a silent prayer, and waxes pale?
O God! have mercy on the mariner!



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