Lyric Poem · Nature

Homer's Hymn to the Earth: Mother of All

by Percy Bysshe Shelley

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1O universal Mother, who dost keep

2From everlasting thy foundations deep,

3Eldest of things, Great Earth, I sing of thee!

4All shapes that have their dwelling in the sea,

5All things that fly, or on the ground divine

6Live, move, and there are nourished — these are thine;

7These from thy wealth thou dost sustain; from thee

8Fair babes are born, and fruits on every tree

9Hang ripe and large, revered Divinity!

10The life of mortal men beneath thy sway

11Is held; thy power both gives and takes away!

12Happy are they whom thy mild favours nourish;

13All things unstinted round them grow and flourish.

14For them, endures the life-sustaining field

15Its load of harvest, and their cattle yield

16Large increase, and their house with wealth is filled.

17Such honoured dwell in cities fair and free,

18The homes of lovely women, prosperously;

19Their sons exult in youth's new budding gladness,

20And their fresh daughters free from care or sadness,

21With bloom-inwoven dance and happy song,

22On the soft flowers the meadow-grass among,

23Leap round them sporting — such delights by thee

24Are given, rich Power, revered Divinity.

25Mother of gods, thou Wife of starry Heaven,

26Farewell! be thou propitious, and be given

27A happy life for this brief melody,

28Nor thou nor other songs shall unremembered be.

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“Homer's Hymn to the Earth: Mother of All” by Percy Bysshe Shelley — quilloak.com/poems/homers-hymn-to-the-earth-mother-of-all

Quick facts

Poem: Homer's Hymn to the Earth: Mother of All
Poet: Percy Bysshe Shelley
Length: 28 lines
Form: Lyric Poem
Themes: Nature, Peace, Autumn

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: 28 lines · 3 stanzas of 4–15 lines
Line length: Lines run 10-12 syllables (median 10), consistent with pentameter. No single length dominates, which is normal once elision and contraction are in play.

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Author record: Percy Bysshe Shelley1792–1822
Source record: PoetryDBHomer's Hymn to the Earth: Mother of All by percy-bysshe-shelley, PoetryDB transcription
Display decision: Full text · United States · reviewed 2026-07-18
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Text fingerprint: SHA-256 7d6c876684994b30…
Editorial handling: Whitespace and stanza breaks normalized for web display; no material wording change recorded.

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Lyric Poem Nature Peace Autumn

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