Like the ghost of a dear friend dead
Is Time long past.
A tone which is now forever fled,
A hope which is now forever past,
A love so sweet it could not last,
Was Time long past.
There were sweet dreams in the night
Of Time long past:
And, was it sadness or delight,
Each day a shadow onward cast
Which made us wish it yet might last-
That Time long past.
There is regret, almost remorse,
For Time long past.
'Tis like a child's beloved corse
A father watches, till at last
Beauty is like remembrance, cast
From Time long past.
by Percy Bysshe Shelley
(1803-1822)
this poem i found to be a very interesting poem.
The first stanza reminds me of a quote by Maya Angelou, "Since time is the one immaterial object which we cannot influence–neither speed up nor slow down, add to nor diminish–it is an imponderably valuable gift." The poet expresses how we spend to much time saying we don't have time.
The second stanza is also interesting with the juxtaposition of "sweet dreams" and then describing it as sadness or delight. Although I'm a bit confused about what impact does this have on the poem and what the poet is trying to say in this stanza. I was wondering if anyone can shed some light as to what is being said in the second and third stanza and how it is being said.
Also what I found interesting is the capitalization of the "t" in time. But what impact does that have on the poem?