The Rime of the Ancient Mariner, 1798, by Samuel Taylor Coleridge
Water, water, every where,
And all the boards did shrink;
Water, water, every where,
Nor any drop to drink.
and,
Ah! Well a-day! What evil looks
Had I from old and young!
Instead of the cross, the albatross
About my neck was hung.
and,
He prayeth best, who loveth best
All things both great and small;
For the dear God who loveth us,
He made and loveth all.
Coleridge would be amazed at the immortality of his poem. The appearance of his words in our idioms and analogies in daily language, more than 200 years later, is a tribute to his talent and creativity.