“On A Dead Violet” by Percy Bysshe Shelley

June 11, 2012 | Miscellania

The poem for this week is “On A Dead Violet” by Percy Bysshe Shelley. I’ve been on a bit of Victorian kick lately, so a work of Shelley’s seemed like a natural choice. This is a short, yet dramatic (possibly melodramatic) poem. I hope you enjoy it.

“On A Dead Violet” by Percy Bysshe Shelley

The odor from the flower is gone
Which like thy kisses breathed on me;
The color from the flower is flown
Which glowed of thee and only thee!

A shrivelled, lifeless, vacant form,
It lies on my abandoned breast;
And mocks the heart, which yet is warm,
With cold and silent rest.

I weep–my tears revive it not;
I sigh–it breathes no more on me:
Its mute and uncomplaining lot
Is such as mine should be.