LINES : THE COLD EARTH SLEPT BELOW by : Percy Bysshe Shelley
The cold earth slept below ; Above the cold sky shone ; And all around , With a chilling sound , From caves of ice and fields of snow The breath of night like death did flow
Beneath the sinking moon .
The wintry hedge was black ; The green grass was not seen ; The birds did rest On the bare thorn ’ s breast , Whose roots , beside the pathway track , Had bound their folds o ’ er many a crack
Which the frost had made between .
Thine eyes glow ’ d in the glare Of the moon ’ s dying light ; As a fen-fire ’ s beam On a sluggish stream Gleams dimly — so the moon shone there , And it yellow ’ d the strings of thy tangled hair ,
That shook in the wind of night .
The moon made thy lips pale , beloved ;
The wind made thy bosom chill ; The night did shed On thy dear head Its frozen dew , and thou didst lie Where the bitter breath of the naked sky
Might visit thee at will .
72 PORTFOLIO MAGAZINE
Photographer : Mark Hutchison