One of the "Miscellaneous Sonnets."—Ed.
Even as a dragon's eye that feels the stress
Of a bedimming sleep, or as a lamp
Suddenly[76] glaring through sepulchral damp,
So burns yon Taper 'mid a[77] black recess
Of mountains, silent, dreary, motionless:
The lake below reflects it not; the sky
Muffled in clouds, affords no company
To mitigate and cheer its loneliness.
Yet, round the body of that joyless Thing