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Lyric Poem · Nature

From the Greek of Moschus

by Percy Bysshe Shelley

Tan ala tan glaukan otan onemos atrema Balle — k.t.l.

When winds that move not its calm surface sweep

The azure sea, I love the land no more;

The smiles of the serene and tranquil deep

Tempt my unquiet mind. — But when the roar

Of Ocean's gray abyss resounds, and foam

Gathers upon the sea, and vast waves burst,

I turn from the drear aspect to the home

Of Earth and its deep woods, where, interspersed,

When winds blow loud, pines make sweet melody.

Whose house is some lone bark, whose toil the sea,

Whose prey the wandering fish, an evil lot

Has chosen. — But I my languid limbs will fling

Beneath the plane, where the brook's murmuring

Moves the calm spirit, but disturbs it not.

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Quick facts

Poem
From the Greek of Moschus
Poet
Percy Bysshe Shelley
Length
15 lines
Form
Lyric Poem
Themes
Nature, Love

Craft notes

How this poem works

Measured from the text on this page, not copied from a summary. Counts are approximate: syllables and rhymes come from the CMU Pronouncing Dictionary, which models General American English, so dialect, older pronunciation, and performance can all change what you hear.

Shape
15 lines · 2 stanzas of 1–14 lines
Line length
Mostly 10-syllable lines (pentameter length).

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Text, source & rights

A traceable edition

Full-text display is based on the committed source record and a United States term-expiry review.

Author record
Percy Bysshe Shelley1792–1822
Source record
PoetryDBFrom the Greek of Moschus by percy-bysshe-shelley, PoetryDB transcription
Display decision
Full text · United States · reviewed 2026-07-18
Publication record
Not recorded in the imported source
Text fingerprint
SHA-256 a0d2b18413b9b289
Editorial handling
Whitespace and stanza breaks normalized for web display; no material wording change recorded.
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