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Fragment: When a Lover Clasps His Fairest, By: Percy Bysshe Shelley

October 18, 2026 by Editors

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1.

When a lover clasps his fairest,
Then be our dread sport the rarest.
Their caresses were like the chaff
In the tempest, and be our laugh
His despair—her epitaph!

2.

When a mother clasps her child,
Watch till dusty Death has piled
His cold ashes on the clay;
She has loved it many a day—
She remains,—it fades away.

Read all of Percy Bysshe Shelley's poems · About Percy Bysshe Shelley

More by Percy Bysshe Shelley

  • Fragment: Wake the Serpent Not
  • Fragment: Wine of the Fairies
  • Fragment: A Roman's Chamber
  • A Vision of the Sea
  • Ode to Liberty

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