Robert Bridges, ed. (1844–1930). The Spirit of Man: An Anthology. 1916. | | | | Prometheus, iii. 3, 108 |
Percy Bysshe Shelley (1792–1822) |
| | | Oh, mother! wherefore speak the name of death? | |
| Cease they to love, and move, and breathe, and speak, | |
| Who die? | |
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THE EARTH It would avail not to reply: | |
| Thou art immortal, and this tongue is known | 5 |
| But to the uncommunicating dead. | |
| Death is the veil which those who live call life: | |
| They sleep, and it is lifted: and meanwhile | |
| In mild variety the seasons mild | |
| With rainbow-skirted showers, and odorous winds, | 10 |
| And long blue meteors cleansing the dull night, | |
| And the life-kindling shafts of the keen sun’s | |
| All-piercing bow, and the dew-mingled rain | |
| Of the calm moonbeams, a soft influence mild, | |
| Shall clothe the forests and the fields, ay, even | 15 |
| The crag-built deserts of the barren deep, | |
| With ever-living leaves, and fruits, and flowers … | |
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