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Lyric Poem · Nature

The World's Wanderers

by Percy Bysshe Shelley

1Tell me, thou Star, whose wings of light

2Speed thee in thy fiery flight,

3In what cavern of the night

4Will thy pinions close now?

5Tell me, Moon, thou pale and gray

6Pilgrim of Heaven's homeless way,

7In what depth of night or day

8Seekest thou repose now?

9Weary Wind, who wanderest

10Like the world's rejected guest,

11Hast thou still some secret nest

12On the tree or billow?

Full-text availability follows the United States display decision recorded below; status can differ elsewhere.

Quick facts

Poem
The World's Wanderers
Poet
Percy Bysshe Shelley
Length
12 lines
Form
Lyric Poem
Themes
Nature, Peace

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
12 lines · 3 quatrains
End rhyme
AAAB in 67% of the stanzas. The remaining stanzas vary, often through slant rhyme.
Line length
Lines run 6-8 syllables (median 7). No single length dominates, which is normal once elision and contraction are in play.
The poem’s silhouette — approximate syllables per line, measured from the text above. Even bars mean a measured line; ragged bars mean the poem sets its own widths.

Want the rules this form is measured against? Read what makes a lyric poem, or run your own draft through the form checker to see the same measurements on your lines. How we measure · Report a mistake

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
PoetryDBThe World's Wanderers 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 01ae78e5bf9d9a0c
Editorial handling
Whitespace and stanza breaks normalized for web display; no material wording change recorded.
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