The Complete Poetical Works of Percy Bysshe Shelley (ed. Hutchinson, 1914)/Summer and Winter
SUMMER AND WINTER
[Published by Mrs. Shelley in The Keepsake, 1829. Mr. C. W. Frederickson of Brooklyn possesses a transcript in Mrs. Shelley's handwriting.]
It was a bright and cheerful afternoon,
Towards the end of the sunny month of June,
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 5
Opens beyond them like eternity.
All things rejoiced beneath the sun: the weeds,
The river, and the corn-fields, and the reeds;
The willow leaves that glanced in the light breeze,
And the firm foliage of the larger trees. 10
The floating mountains of the silver clouds
From the horizon—and the stainless sky 5
Opens beyond them like eternity.
All things rejoiced beneath the sun: the weeds,
The river, and the corn-fields, and the reeds;
The willow leaves that glanced in the light breeze,
And the firm foliage of the larger trees. 10
It was a winter such as when birds die[1]
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 clod as hard as brick; and when, 15
Among their children, comfortable men
Gather about great fires, and yet feel cold:
Alas, then, for the homeless beggar old!
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 clod as hard as brick; and when, 15
Among their children, comfortable men
Gather about great fires, and yet feel cold:
Alas, then, for the homeless beggar old!
- ↑ Summer and Winter.—11 birds die 1839; birds do die 1829.