Shelley and I quote once said
The Princess Charlotte is dead
She no longer moves nor thinks nor feels
She is inanimate as the clay –
Please stop
Why
It is too gruesome
Today I found found a goldfinch which had been mortally injured by a car
Tears were running down my face
But it was not for the wretched creature
I was weeping as I knew that its beauty would quickly fade
The Princess Charlotte was a beautiful woman
Would you have wept for her
Without sounding fragile I weep frequently when beauty overcomes me
It drowns me I am often suffocated by its perfumes be they imagined or real
Shelley drowned in the July of 1822 he had originally travelled to Livorno to meet Leigh-Hunt and Byron
All went well aboard the Don Juan on the outward journey but disaster struck on the return journey
He and a friend drowned when their boat sank in a sudden storm on the 7th of July
This is pretty common knowledge but the accident robbed the world one of its most original minds
His loss was recorded by a number of his friends in surprising detail
I was in Italy in 1822 and met him briefly and after a while he asked if I knew Jane
Jane was my oldest friend was my answer
He then gave me this poem which I have held dear throughout all my travels
It is time to pass it to you as we may not see each other for many years
What is the poem called
To Jane
The keen stars were twinkling
And the fair moon was rising among them
Dear Jane
The guitar was tinkling
But the notes were not sweet till you sung them
Again
It is a short poem
And it mentions you by name
Shelley liked you
But I never had the pleasure of meeting him
Do you dream
I do
Then you would have met him many times
But I would have remembered our meeting
Dreams fade dear Jane they do not linger in the dawn
What is your acquaintance Viola
He is a dear friend
We dined just two days ago
I knew then that I was about to travel
So I made my excuses and left his Italian walls
The news of his death reached me during the latter part of my journey