THE POET'S LOVER I AM as a spirit who has dwelt Within his heart of hearts, and I have felt His feelings, and have thought his thoughts, and known The inmost converse of his soul, the tone "I WOULD NOT BE A KING" I WOULD not be a king-enough The path to power is steep and rough, I would not climb the imperial throne; Thaws in the height of noon. Care would not come so soon. Would he and I were far away Keeping flocks on Himalay! The Poet's Lover || A Soul Known, Forman; Fellowship of Souls, Dowden. Published by Garnett, 1862, dated 1819. “I would not be a King." Published by Mrs. Shelley, 18392, dated 1821. "IS IT THAT IN SOME BRIGHTER SPHERE" Is it that in some brighter sphere Over the Present's dusky glass? Or what is that that makes us seem TO-DAY AND who feels discord now or sorrow? These are the slaves of dim to-morrow, LOVE'S ATMOSPHERE THERE is a warm and gentle atmosphere Wrapped in the of that which is to us The health of life's own life. "Is it that in some Brighter Sphere" || Questions, Forman; Reminiscence and Desire, Dowden. Published by Garnett, 1862, dated 1819. To-day || Love the Universe, Forman. Published by Mrs. Shelley, 18391, dated 1819. Love's Atmosphere, Forman. Published by Mrs. Shelley, 18392, dated 1819. TORPOR My head is heavy, my limbs are weary, Should not know the way to go; "IS NOT TO-DAY ENOUGH?" Is not to-day enough? Why do I peer Into the darkness of the day to come? Is not to-morrow even as yesterday? And will the day that follows change thy doom? Few flowers grow upon thy wintry way; Torpor Weariness, Dowden. Published by Garnett, 1862, dated 1820. "Wake the Serpent not " || The Serpent, Forman. Published by Mrs. Shelley, 18392, dated 1819. "Is not To-day enough?" || Forebodings, Dowden. Published by Garnett, 1862, dated 1819. And who waits for thee in that cheerless home Whence thou hast fled, whither thou must re turn Charged with the load that makes thee faint and mourn? "TO THIRST AND FIND NO FILL" To thirst and find no fill — to wail and wander With short uneasy steps to pause and ponder tingle Where busy thought and blind sensation mingle; To nurse the image of unfelt caresses Till dim imagination just possesses The half-created shadow. LOVE 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. All that frail stuff which will be was. or which "To thirst and find no Fill" || Unsatisfied Desires, Forman. Unsatisfied Desire, Dowden. Published by Mrs. Shelley, 18391, dated 1817. 7 half-created self-created, Rossetti conj. Love Wealth and Love, Forman; Love Immortal, Dowden. Published by Mrs. Shelley, 18391, dated 1817. MUSIC I I PANT for the music which is divine, II Let me drink of the spirit of that sweet sound, - It loosens the serpent which care has bound The dissolving strain through every vein III As the scent of a violet withered up, Which grew by the brink of a silver lake, When the hot noon has drained its dewy cup, And mist there was none its thirst to slake And the violet lay dead while the odor flew On the wings of the wind o'er the waters blue IV As one who drinks from a charmèd cup Of foaming, and sparkling, and murmuring wine, Music. Published by Mrs. Shelley, 1824, dated 1821. |