Fragment. (I would not be a king ...)
By Percy Bysshe Shelley
I would not be a king -- enough
Of woe it is to love;
The path to power is steep and rough,
And tempests reign above.
I would not climb the imperial throne;
'Tis built on ice which fortune's sun
Thaws in the height of noon.
Then farewell, king, yet were I one,
Care would not come so soon.
Would he and I were far away
Keeping flocks on Himalay!
Published 1839, 2nd Edition.
]]>Source Book
The Lyrics and Shorter Poems of Percy Bysshe Shelley
by Percy Bysshe Shelley
Copyright 1907, reprinted 1913
Published by London: J.M. Dent & Sons, Ltd.
New York: E.P. Dutton & Co.
