Page:Hellas, a Lyrical Drama - Shelley (1822).djvu/32

From Wikisource
Jump to navigation Jump to search
This page has been proofread, but needs to be validated.
12
HELLAS.
Mahmud.
This Jew whom thou hast summon'd—

Hassan.
Will be here—

Mahmud.
When the omnipotent hour to which are yoked
He, I, and all things shall compel—enough.
Silence those mutineers—that drunken crew,
That crowd about the pilot in the storm.
Ay! strike the foremost shorter by a head!
They weary me, and I have need of rest.
Kinks are like stars—they rise and set, they have
The worship of the world, but no repose.
(Exeunt severally.

Chorus. (2)
Worlds on worlds are rolling ever
From creation to decay,
Like the bubbles on a river
Sparkling, bursting, borne away.
But they are still immortal
Who, through birth’s orient portal
And death’s dark chasm hurrying to and fro,
Clothe their unceasing flight
In the brief dust and light
Gather'd around their chariots as they go;