Shelley Sonnet on Ballooning

Bright ball of flame that thro the gloom of even
Silently takes thine ethereal way
And with surpassing glory dimmst each ray
Twinkling amid the dark blue depth of Heaven;
Unlike the Fire thou bearest, soon shalt thou
Fade like a meteor in surrounding gloom,
Whilst that, unquenchable, is doomed to glow
A watch-light by the patriot’s lonely tomb,
A ray of courage to the opprest and poor…

Richard Holmes, Shelley: The Pursuit (2005-11-10)

• ballooning
• poetry