Poetry Explorer- Classic Contemporary Poetry, LINES (1), by PERCY BYSSHE SHELLEY


Poetry Explorer

Classic and Contemporary Poetry

LINES (1), by                 Poet Analysis     Poet's Biography
First Line: The cold earth slept below
Last Line: Might visit thee at will.
Subject(s): Death; Shelley, Harriet Westbrook; Dead, The


The cold earth slept below,
Above the cold sky shone;
And all around with a chilling sound,
From caves of ice and fields of snow
The breath of night like death did flow
Beneath the sinking moon.
The wintry hedge was black,
The green grass was not seen,
The birds did rest on the bare thorn's breast,
Whose roots, beside the pathway track,
Had bound their folds o'er many a crack
Which the frost had made between.
Thine eyes glowed in the glare
Of the moon's dying light;
As a fen-fire's beam on a sluggish stream
Gleams dimly, so the moon shone there.
And it yellowed the strings of thy raven hair,
That shook in the wind of night.
The moon made thy lips pale, beloved --
The wind made thy bosom chill --
The night did shed on thy dear head
Its frozen dew, and thou didst lie
Where the bitter breath of the naked sky
Might visit thee at will.





Discover our Poem Explanations and Poet Analyses!


Other Poems of Interest...
Home: PoetryExplorer.net