Its
passions
will rock thee _25
As the storms rock the ravens on high;
Bright reason will mock thee,
Like the sun from a wintry sky.
As the storms rock the ravens on high;
Bright reason will mock thee,
Like the sun from a wintry sky.
Shelley
Bradley.
***
LINES: 'WHEN THE LAMP IS SHATTERED'.
[Published by Mrs. Shelley, "Posthumous Poems", 1824.
There is a copy amongst the Trelawny manuscripts. ]
1.
When the lamp is shattered
The light in the dust lies dead--
When the cloud is scattered
The rainbow's glory is shed.
When the lute is broken, _5
Sweet tones are remembered not;
When the lips have spoken,
Loved accents are soon forgot.
2.
As music and splendour
Survive not the lamp and the lute, _10
The heart's echoes render
No song when the spirit is mute:--
No song but sad dirges,
Like the wind through a ruined cell,
Or the mournful surges _15
That ring the dead seaman's knell.
3.
When hearts have once mingled
Love first leaves the well-built nest;
The weak one is singled
To endure what it once possessed. _20
O Love! who bewailest
The frailty of all things here,
Why choose you the frailest
For your cradle, your home, and your bier?
4.
Its passions will rock thee _25
As the storms rock the ravens on high;
Bright reason will mock thee,
Like the sun from a wintry sky.
From thy nest every rafter
Will rot, and thine eagle home _30
Leave thee naked to laughter,
When leaves fall and cold winds come.
NOTES:
_6 tones edition 1824; notes Trelawny manuscript.
_14 through edition 1824; in Trelawny manuscript.
_16 dead edition 1824; lost Trelawny manuscript.
_23 choose edition 1824; chose Trelawny manuscript.
_25-_32 wanting Trelawny manuscript.
***
TO JANE: THE INVITATION.
[This and the following poem were published together in their original
form as one piece under the title, "The Pine Forest of the Cascine near
Pisa", by Mrs. Shelley, "Posthumous Poems", 1824; reprinted in the same
shape, "Poetical Works", 1839, 1st edition; republished separately in
their present form, "Poetical Works", 1839, 2nd edition. There is a
copy amongst the Trelawny manuscripts. ]
Best and brightest, come away!
Fairer far than this fair Day,
Which, like thee to those in sorrow,
Comes to bid a sweet good-morrow
To the rough Year just awake _5
In its cradle on the brake.
The brightest hour of unborn Spring,
Through the winter wandering,
Found, it seems, the halcyon Morn
To hoar February born, _10
Bending from Heaven, in azure mirth,
It kissed the forehead of the Earth,
And smiled upon the silent sea,
And bade the frozen streams be free,
And waked to music all their fountains, _15
And breathed upon the frozen mountains,
And like a prophetess of May
Strewed flowers upon the barren way,
Making the wintry world appear
Like one on whom thou smilest, dear. _20
Away, away, from men and towns,
To the wild wood and the downs--
To the silent wilderness
Where the soul need not repress
Its music lest it should not find _25
An echo in another's mind,
While the touch of Nature's art
Harmonizes heart to heart.
I leave this notice on my door
For each accustomed visitor:-- _30
'I am gone into the fields
To take what this sweet hour yields;--
Reflection, you may come to-morrow,
Sit by the fireside with Sorrow.
***
LINES: 'WHEN THE LAMP IS SHATTERED'.
[Published by Mrs. Shelley, "Posthumous Poems", 1824.
There is a copy amongst the Trelawny manuscripts. ]
1.
When the lamp is shattered
The light in the dust lies dead--
When the cloud is scattered
The rainbow's glory is shed.
When the lute is broken, _5
Sweet tones are remembered not;
When the lips have spoken,
Loved accents are soon forgot.
2.
As music and splendour
Survive not the lamp and the lute, _10
The heart's echoes render
No song when the spirit is mute:--
No song but sad dirges,
Like the wind through a ruined cell,
Or the mournful surges _15
That ring the dead seaman's knell.
3.
When hearts have once mingled
Love first leaves the well-built nest;
The weak one is singled
To endure what it once possessed. _20
O Love! who bewailest
The frailty of all things here,
Why choose you the frailest
For your cradle, your home, and your bier?
4.
Its passions will rock thee _25
As the storms rock the ravens on high;
Bright reason will mock thee,
Like the sun from a wintry sky.
From thy nest every rafter
Will rot, and thine eagle home _30
Leave thee naked to laughter,
When leaves fall and cold winds come.
NOTES:
_6 tones edition 1824; notes Trelawny manuscript.
_14 through edition 1824; in Trelawny manuscript.
_16 dead edition 1824; lost Trelawny manuscript.
_23 choose edition 1824; chose Trelawny manuscript.
_25-_32 wanting Trelawny manuscript.
***
TO JANE: THE INVITATION.
[This and the following poem were published together in their original
form as one piece under the title, "The Pine Forest of the Cascine near
Pisa", by Mrs. Shelley, "Posthumous Poems", 1824; reprinted in the same
shape, "Poetical Works", 1839, 1st edition; republished separately in
their present form, "Poetical Works", 1839, 2nd edition. There is a
copy amongst the Trelawny manuscripts. ]
Best and brightest, come away!
Fairer far than this fair Day,
Which, like thee to those in sorrow,
Comes to bid a sweet good-morrow
To the rough Year just awake _5
In its cradle on the brake.
The brightest hour of unborn Spring,
Through the winter wandering,
Found, it seems, the halcyon Morn
To hoar February born, _10
Bending from Heaven, in azure mirth,
It kissed the forehead of the Earth,
And smiled upon the silent sea,
And bade the frozen streams be free,
And waked to music all their fountains, _15
And breathed upon the frozen mountains,
And like a prophetess of May
Strewed flowers upon the barren way,
Making the wintry world appear
Like one on whom thou smilest, dear. _20
Away, away, from men and towns,
To the wild wood and the downs--
To the silent wilderness
Where the soul need not repress
Its music lest it should not find _25
An echo in another's mind,
While the touch of Nature's art
Harmonizes heart to heart.
I leave this notice on my door
For each accustomed visitor:-- _30
'I am gone into the fields
To take what this sweet hour yields;--
Reflection, you may come to-morrow,
Sit by the fireside with Sorrow.
