Mariners' Rime

With humblest apologies to Samuel Taylor Coleridge...

…and in what manner the Ancyent Marinere came back to his own Country...

[…]

The Wedding-Guest sat on a stone :

He cannot choose but hear ;

And thus spake on that ancient man,

The bright-eyed Mariner.

The ship was cheered, the harbour cleared,

Merrily did we drop

Below the kirk, below the hill,

Below the lighthouse top.

Two score and 9 days ago, our letterboxing drought began.
Water, water, everywhere and not a drop to drink!
Water falling constantly, without an end in sight.

Damn the rain and venture out, for our time had finally come!
Seek out the lonely Mariner. No, two! Why settle just for one?

We found the kirk, then the hill—a turtle biding patiently.
Our first prize quickly secured, amidst the stone wall within.
But yonder in the distant view, we spy a grander site.
For beyond the water’s edge, amidst a glorious harbour,
Adjacent the lighthouse top,
Honed a beacon with a stronger pull.

Venturing across the sound,
Beneath the torrential flow,
Blessed by the protection of the greater one,
We hail'd through the gates,
Find our souls within the madden’d crowds,
All grasping for a view.

We run, we wander, we swing, we toss,
Amidst the noisy din.

We landeth on the dugout row,
E’en snap a shot of the throne.

Venture the hall of diamond clubs,
Rub elbows with heroes ancient and new,
Spied some now resting on permanent laurels,
Having settled in for deeper sleep.

Whence the time had arrived,
To brave the T,
And strike it with fire aglow,
To launch the ball beyond the wall,
Every contender’s goal.

Ere my eyes were weak,
My swing not straight,
I barely connected quite true.

RnrB & trkr fared much better,
But still not making the mark.
Tis only when the turtle did strike,
Did the ball fly out of the park.

Yes, it is true, we were there,
When ancyent history was made,
The Green Tortuga, in all his glory,
Hit a home run—a record ne’er to fade!!!

For on the grounds of Safeco Field,
In the city of emerald,
On the 28th day, the first Gregorian Month,
Did one fast hiking turtle,
Manage to aim with fire,
Strike the tee,
And propel the sphere beyond the left field fence!!!

Yes, we were there,
To witness the feat.
An honor quite unique.
For none so fair,
Doth e’er compare
To the Green Tortuga mighty!


[…]

By grace of the holy Mother, the ancient Mariner is refreshed with rain.

The silly buckets on the deck,That had so long remained,I dreamt that they were filled with dew ; And when I awoke, it rained. My lips were wet, my throat was cold,My garments all were dank ;Sure I had drunken in my dreams, And still my body drank.

For on this day, our drought did end.
We found not one mariner, but two.
The first was high above the harbour,
An impression in our log it made.
One crafted by the great Green Guillemot,
The second, however, beyond the blue,

Greener, where many a mariner did go.

Play ball!

Go Seattle Mariners!