Poem by Charlotte Turner Smith

Sonnet 83. The Sea View

THE upland shepherd, as reclined he lies
On the soft turf that clothes the mountain brow,
Marks the bright sea-line mingling with the skies;
Or from his course celestial, sinking slow,
The summer-sun in purple radiance low,
Blaze on the western waters; the wide scene
Magnificent, and tranquil, seems to spread
Even o'er the rustic's breast a joy serene,
When, like dark plague-spots by the demons shed,
Charged deep with death, upon the waves, far seen,
Move the war-freighted ships; and fierce and red,
Flash their destructive fires--The mangled dead
And dying victims then pollute the flood.
Ah, thus man spoils Heaven's glorious works with blood!

1. Sonnet 9. Blest is yon shepherd, on the turf reclined
2. Sonnet 33. To the Naiad of the Arun
3. Sonnet 51. Supposed to have been written in the Hebrides
4. Sonnet 58. The Glow-Worm
5. Sonnet 13. From Petrarch (OH! place me where the burning moon)

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