Knight-errant of the Never-ending Quest, <br />And Minstrel of the Unfulfilled Desire; <br />For ever tuning thy frail earthly lyre <br />To some unearthly music, and possessed <br />With painful passionate longing to invest <br />The golden dream of Love's immortal fire <br />In mortal robes of beautiful attire, <br />And fold perfection to thy throbbing breast! <br /> <br />What wonder, Shelley, if the restless wave <br />Should claim thee and the leaping flame consume <br />Thy drifted form on Viareggio's beach? <br />Fate to thy body gave a fitting grave, <br />And bade thy soul ride on with fiery plume, <br />Thy wild song ring in ocean's yearning speech!<br /><br />Henry Van Dyke<br /><br />http://www.poemhunter.com/poem/shelley/
