POEMS WRITTEN IN 1817
545
They knew that Satan had broken his chain.
And with millions of daemons in his train,
Was ranging over the world again.
Before the Angel had told his tale, 10
A sweet and a creeping sound
Like the rushing of wings was heard around;
And suddenly the lamps grew pale—
The lamps, before the Archangels seven,
That burn continually in Heaven. 15
And with millions of daemons in his train,
Was ranging over the world again.
Before the Angel had told his tale, 10
A sweet and a creeping sound
Like the rushing of wings was heard around;
And suddenly the lamps grew pale—
The lamps, before the Archangels seven,
That burn continually in Heaven. 15
FRAGMENT: IGNIGULUS DESIDERII
[Published by Mrs. Shelley, P. W., 1839, 1st ed. This fragment is amongst the Shelley MSS. at the Bodleian. See Mr. C. D. Locock's Examination, &c., 1903, p. 63.]
To thirst and find no fill—to wail and wander
With short unsteady[1] steps—to pause and ponder—
To feel the blood run through the veins and tingle
Where busy thought and blind sensation mingle;
To nurse the image of unfelt caresses 5
Till dim imagination just possesses
The half-created shadow, then all the night
Sick . . .[2]
With short unsteady[1] steps—to pause and ponder—
To feel the blood run through the veins and tingle
Where busy thought and blind sensation mingle;
To nurse the image of unfelt caresses 5
Till dim imagination just possesses
The half-created shadow, then all the night
Sick . . .[2]
FRAGMENT: AMOR AETERNUS
[Published by Mrs. Shelley, P. W., 1839, 1st ed.]
Wealth and dominion fade into the mass
Of the great sea of human right and wrong,
When once from our possession they must pass;
But love, though misdirected, is among
The things which are immortal, and surpass 5
All that frail stuff which will be—or which was.
Of the great sea of human right and wrong,
When once from our possession they must pass;
But love, though misdirected, is among
The things which are immortal, and surpass 5
All that frail stuff which will be—or which was.
FRAGMENT: THOUGHTS COME AND GO IN SOLITUDE
[Published by Mrs. Shelley, P. W., 1839, 1st ed.]
My thoughts arise and fade in solitude,
The verse that would invest them melts away
Like moonlight in the heaven of spreading day:
How beautiful they were, how firm they stood,
Flecking the starry sky like woven pearl! 5
The verse that would invest them melts away
Like moonlight in the heaven of spreading day:
How beautiful they were, how firm they stood,
Flecking the starry sky like woven pearl! 5
