Humpbacks

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

Water, water, everywhere,
And all the boards did shrink;
Water, water, everywhere,
Nor any drop to drink.
*from The Rime of the Ancient Mariner
By Samuel Taylor Coleridge
There are certain passages in literature that just clicked from my high school and collegiate years, and this is one of them. I was, from the first viewing, intrigued by every stanza and twist and turn this ballad took. Living along the rugged Maine coast all my life, this writing of Coleridge(his longest) left an indelible marking upon me for life. The sea: the mysticism and gothic nature of this great wonder, especially while walking along it's edge on a moonless night, just sends shivers up my spine, and I harken back and long to read these lines again.
* click on to enlarge and view the 'slice' of blue in the distance.