Classic Poetry Aloud

Byron read by Classic Poetry Aloud: http://www.classicpoetryaloud.com/ Giving voice to the poetry of the past. --------------------------------------------- Darkness by George Gordon, Lord Byron (1788 – 1824) I had a dream, which was not all a dream, The bright sun was extinguish’d, and the stars Did wander darkling in the eternal space, Rayless, and pathless; and the icy earth Swung blind and blackening in the moonless air Morn came and went—and came, and brought no day, And men forgot their passions in the dread Of this their desolation: and all hearts Were chill’d into a selfish prayer for light: And they did live by watchfires—and the thrones, The palaces of crowned kings—the huts, The habitations of all things which dwell, Were burnt for beacons; cities were consumed, And men were gathered round their blazing homes To look once more into each other’s face Happy were those who dwelt within the eye Of the volcanoes, and their mountain-torch: A fearful hope was all the world contain