Robert Southey (1774 to 1843) He was born in Bristol, England. He was the son of a draper, educated at Westminster School and Balliol College, Oxford. 

He was a Poet Laureate of England from 1813 to 1843. Some of his short poems like 'The Scholar'. 'The Battle of Blenheim', 'Bishop Hatto', 'The Inchcape Rock' etc. are very popular with the school children. 

'The Inchcape Rock' is a ballad. It's the story of the 14th century attempt by the Abbot of Aberbrothok to install a warning bell on Inchcape, a notorious sandstone reef about 11 miles (18km) off the east coast of Angus, Scotland, near Dundee and Fife, occupied by the Bell Rock Lighthouse. 

Southey was inspired by the the legendary story of a pirate who removed the bell on the Inchcape Rock placed by the Abbot of Aberbrothok. The poem gives us a message that those who do wrong things will meet with due punishment.

 "The Inchcape Rock" by Robert Southey

The Inchcape Rock (Simplified Version)

No wind in the sky, sea calm and still,

The ship didn’t move, though it had a will.

The ship stood steady on the sea,

No waves moved it, peaceful as could be.

No sound of waves, all was quiet,

The only noise was seabirds' riot.

The waves gently moved with care,

And didn’t hit the Inchcape Rock there.

The kind Abbot of Aberbrothok

Had placed a bell on the Inchcape Rock.

It floated and rang when waves were strong,

To warn sailors not to go wrong.

When waves moved the bell’s base,

Sailors heard it from a far place.

They blessed the Abbot for his deed,

Who saved their ships in time of need.

The sun shone bright in the sky,

The seabirds sang as they flew by.

The sea was calm and light as air,

The bell’s sound echoed everywhere.

But then came a bad man one day,

Sir Ralph the Rover sailed that way.

He saw the bell and did not like

The help it gave when seas would strike.

He rowed a boat in secret pride,

And went to the Rock with evil inside.

“I’ll cut the bell,” he said with glee,

“And trouble sailors on the sea!”

He laughed as he cut the rope,

And down the bell fell with no hope.

He rowed back happy with his crew,

Happy with the bad thing he’d do.

Sir Ralph kept robbing ships for days,

He took their goods in wicked ways.

He spent his loot and lived with pride,

He never cared for those who died.

But time went by and he came back,

To Scotland’s shore from his attack.

He sailed when the sky was dark and gray,

No sun, no stars to guide his way.

The sea was wild, waves hit hard,

They could not see, their sight was barred.

They wished they heard the warning bell,

To tell them where the danger fell.

They saw no light, heard no sound,

The ship hit rocks and shook all around.

Sir Ralph cried out in shock and fear,

“Oh God! It’s the Rock! We’re near!”

The ship broke up, men cried and prayed,

But none could help, all hopes decayed.

They sank into the stormy sea,

The Rock had claimed its victory.

Sir Ralph was lost, his pride now gone,

He thought of the bell he cut so long.

Too late he saw what he had done—

The Devil rang his bell—he'd won.

Now darkness filled Sir Ralph’s mind,

As waves crashed in, so fierce, unkind.

No help, no hope, no guiding sound—

Just roaring sea all around.

He shouted loud, but none could hear,

The storm replied with thunder near.

His crew looked on with silent dread,

They knew they'd soon be cold and dead.

The ship went down with creak and moan,

The men were left to die alone.

And on that stormy, deadly night,

Sir Ralph met his end with fright.

And as he sank beneath the swell,

He seemed to hear a ghostly bell.

It wasn’t one to bring him aid—

But one to haunt the choice he made.

It tolled not loud, but clear and deep,

Ringing through the ocean steep.

A sound of doom, a final knell—

The Devil rang the Inchcape Bell.

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The simplified version of the poem: The Inchcape  Rock.