Poetry Explorer- Classic Contemporary Poetry, SUMMER AND WINTER, by PERCY BYSSHE SHELLEY



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Classic and Contemporary Poetry

SUMMER AND WINTER, by                 Poet Analysis     Poet's Biography
First Line: It was a bright and cheerful afternoon
Last Line: Alas, then, for the homeless beggar old!


IT was a bright and cheerful afternoon
Towards the end of the sunny month of June,
When the north wind congregates in crowds
The floating mountains of the silver clouds
From the horizon -- and the stainless sky
Opens beyond them like eternity.
All things rejoiced beneath the sun; the weeds,
The river, and the cornfields, and the reeds;
The willow leaves that glanced in the light breeze,
And the firm foliage of the larger trees.

It was a winter such as when birds die
In the deep forests; and the fishes lie
Stiffened in the translucent ice, which makes
Even the mud and slime of the warm lakes
A wrinkled cold as hard as brick; and when
Among their children comfortable men
Gather about great fires, and yet feel cold:
Alas, then, for the homeless beggar old!





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