Rhyme of the Ancient Mariner

Location: Falmouth, Antigua

Another day on Ocean Star dawned bright and hot and quiet. Our morning routine is the same every day- coffee, breakfast, reading, and mostly silence. Without the bustle of the students on board, Ocean Star feels big and empty. The four of us go about our tasks each day, but the excitement of 16 students learning and exploring and discovering is severely missed. We hope all of you are enjoying your time at home with family, and we look forward to our daily classes and squeezes with you. Today, I was reminded of a poem by Samuel Taylor Coleridge called the “Rime of the Ancient Mariner,” written near the end of the 1700s. This section is about getting stuck in the Doldrums, where sailors could drift endlessly with no wind to fill their sails. This is how we feel without students onboard:

Down dropt the breeze, the sails dropt down,
‘Twas sad as sad could be;
And we did speak only to break.
The silence of the sea!

All in a hot and copper sky,
The bloody Sun, at noon,
Right up above the mast did stand,
No bigger than the Moon.

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

We have plenty of tasks to keep us occupied on board, but it just isn’t the same without our big floating family. We miss you all, and we look forward to seeing you for class and squeeze and lit review presentations! Stay safe!