Lyric Poem · Death & Loss

Lines

by Percy Bysshe Shelley

Reading room

1That time is dead for ever, child!

2Drowned, frozen, dead for ever!

3We look on the past

4And stare aghast

5At the spectres wailing, pale and ghast,

6Of hopes which thou and I beguiled

7To death on life's dark river.

8The stream we gazed on then rolled by;

9Its waves are unreturning;

10But we yet stand

11In a lone land,

12Like tombs to mark the memory

13Of hopes and fears, which fade and flee

14In the light of life's dim morning.

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“Lines” by Percy Bysshe Shelley — quilloak.com/poems/lines

Quick facts

Poem: Lines
Poet: Percy Bysshe Shelley
Length: 14 lines
Form: Lyric Poem
Themes: Death & Loss, Hope, Nature

Craft notes

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Shape: 14 lines · 2 septets

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Text, source & rights

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Author record: Percy Bysshe Shelley1792–1822
Source record: PoetryDBLines 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 04121fed1d5ee123…
Editorial handling: Whitespace and stanza breaks normalized for web display; no material wording change recorded.

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Lyric Poem Death & Loss Hope Nature

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