POEMS WRITTEN IN 1819
569
SIMILES FOR TWO POLITICAL CHARACTERS OF 1819
[Published by Medwin, The Athenæum, Aug. 25, 1832; reprinted by Mrs. Shelley, P. W, 1839. Our title is that of 1839, 2nd ed. The poem is found amongst the Harvard MSS., headed To S———th and C———gh.]
I
As from an ancestral oak
Two empty ravens sound their clarion,
Yell by yell, and croak by croak,
When they scent the noonday smoke
Of fresh human carrion:— 5
As from an ancestral oak
Two empty ravens sound their clarion,
Yell by yell, and croak by croak,
When they scent the noonday smoke
Of fresh human carrion:— 5
II
As two gibbering night-birds flit
From their bowers of deadly yew[1]
Through the night to frighten it,
When the moon is in a fit,
And the stars are none, or few:—
As two gibbering night-birds flit
From their bowers of deadly yew[1]
Through the night to frighten it,
When the moon is in a fit,
And the stars are none, or few:—
III
As a shark and dog-fish wait 11
Under an Atlantic isle,
For the negro-ship, whose freight
Is the theme of their debate.
Wrinkling their red gills the while— 15
As a shark and dog-fish wait 11
Under an Atlantic isle,
For the negro-ship, whose freight
Is the theme of their debate.
Wrinkling their red gills the while— 15
IV
Are ye, two vultures sick for battle,
Two scorpions under one wetstone.
Two bloodless wolves whose dry throats rattle,
Two crows perched on the murrained cattle,
Two vipers tangled into one. 20
Are ye, two vultures sick for battle,
Two scorpions under one wetstone.
Two bloodless wolves whose dry throats rattle,
Two crows perched on the murrained cattle,
Two vipers tangled into one. 20
FRAGMENT: TO THE PEOPLE OF ENGLAND
[Published by Dr. Garnett, Relics of Shelley, 1862.]
People of England, ye who toil and groan,
Who reap the harvests which are not your own,
Who weave the clothes which your oppressors wear,
And for your own take the inclement air;
Who build warm houses . . .
And are like gods who give them all they have,
And nurse them from the cradle to the grave . . . 5
········
Who reap the harvests which are not your own,
Who weave the clothes which your oppressors wear,
And for your own take the inclement air;
Who build warm houses . . .
And are like gods who give them all they have,
And nurse them from the cradle to the grave . . . 5
········
FRAGMENT: 'WHAT MEN GAIN FAIRLY[2]'
[Published by Mrs. Shelley, P. W, 1839, 2nd ed.]
What men gain fairly—that they should possess,
And children may inherit idleness.
From him who earns it—This is understood;
Private injustice may be general good.
But he who gains by base and armèd wrong. 5
Or guilty fraud, or base compliances.
May be despoiled; even as a stolen dress
Is stripped from a convicted thief, and he
Left in the nakedness of infamy.
And children may inherit idleness.
From him who earns it—This is understood;
Private injustice may be general good.
But he who gains by base and armèd wrong. 5
Or guilty fraud, or base compliances.
May be despoiled; even as a stolen dress
Is stripped from a convicted thief, and he
Left in the nakedness of infamy.
