Rotten Flesh

So there amongst the rotten corpses
Penance you must bear
Smell the rotten flesh
On decay you stare

The putrid smell as you drift
On a dead sea
The curse of dead men’s eyes
That cannot see

So ponder well
On this rotting flesh
Let your penance eat you up
Till vanity does rest

Those corpses will come to life
And on you seek revenge
Unless through your penance
Your vanity does end

So in total solitude
Decay you do breathe
The loneliest place on earth
On that cruel sea

And when at last
Your purgatory does end
Then with King Neptune
You will face the end

The curse of these dead men
The breaking of the spell
Well ancient mariner
You’ll not go to Hell