The Complete Poetical Works of Percy Bysshe Shelley (ed. Hutchinson, 1914)/The Tower of Famine
THE TOWER OF FAMINE
[Published by Mrs. Shelley in The Keepsake, 1829. Mr. C. W. Frederickson of Brooklyn possesses a transcript in Mrs. Shelley's handwriting.]
Amid the desolation of a city,
Which was the cradle, and is now the grave
Of an extinguished people,—so that Pity
Which was the cradle, and is now the grave
Of an extinguished people,—so that Pity
Weeps o'er the shipwrecks of Oblivion's wave,
There stands the Tower of Famine. It is built 5
Upon some prison-homes, whose dwellers rave
There stands the Tower of Famine. It is built 5
Upon some prison-homes, whose dwellers rave
For[1] bread, and gold, and blood: Pain, linked to Guilt,
Agitates the light flame of their hours,
Until its vital oil is spent or spilt.
Agitates the light flame of their hours,
Until its vital oil is spent or spilt.
There stands the pile, a tower amid the towers 10
And sacred domes; each marble-ribbèd roof,
The brazen-gated temples, and the bowers
And sacred domes; each marble-ribbèd roof,
The brazen-gated temples, and the bowers
Of solitary wealth,—the tempest-proof
Pavilions of the dark Italian air,—
Are by its presence dimmed—they stand aloof, 15
Pavilions of the dark Italian air,—
Are by its presence dimmed—they stand aloof, 15
And are withdrawn—so that the world is bare;
As if a spectre wrapped in shapeless terror
Amid a company of ladies fair
As if a spectre wrapped in shapeless terror
Amid a company of ladies fair
Should glide and glow, till it became a mirror
Of all their beauty, and their hair and hue, 20
The life of their sweet eyes, with all its error,
Should be absorbed, till they to marble grew.
Of all their beauty, and their hair and hue, 20
The life of their sweet eyes, with all its error,
Should be absorbed, till they to marble grew.
- ↑ The Tower of Famine.—7 For] With 1829.