Page:Shelley, a poem, with other writings (Thomson, Debell).djvu/19



PON a grassy slope of shore I lay Hour after hour, from sunset into night, Outgazing tranquil o'er the tranquil bay, And dreaming in a mood of rare delight. Yes, for some hours, sky-pure sea-calm star-bright My spirit was in tune with heaven and earth, Nor felt the discords of its mortal birth.

The round moon floated half-way up the sky, Beneath an arch of clouds serenely fair As if upfurled where never breeze could fly: So that it seemed a lamp suspended there To light the sea-floored theatre of air; Whose curtain raised, whose hush of expectation Foretold a solemn drama's celebration.

My dream grew deeper, deeper evermore; A sleepless dream, a seeing trance, no swoon. I floated with the throb of sea and shore, And felt the earth swift-wheeling with the moon, And saw the worlds as they indeed are,—strewn Above, below, as fish through ocean roam, Not gliding round an even-surfaced dome.