The fountains mingle with the river
And the rivers with the Ocean,
The winds of Heaven mix for ever
With a sweet emotion;
Nothing in the world is single;
All things by a law divine
In one spirit meet and mingle.
Why not I with thine? -
See the mountains kiss high Heaven
And the waves clasp one another;
No sister-flower would be forgiven
If it disdained its brother;
And the sunlight clasps the earth
And the moonbeams kiss the sea:
What is all this sweet work worth
If thou kiss not me?
Shelley flirted with the young and attractive Sophia Stacey, a ward of one of his uncles, who cam with her chaperone to visit Mary Shelley and him in Florence in December 1819. Mary commented that "the younger one was entousiasmee to see him - the elder said he was a very shocking man". Whilst Mary stayed at home looking after their child, Shelley would take Sophia and her chaperone out to galleries. Sophia, Mary admired, "sings well for an English dilettante" and Shelley wrote her several love lyrics, including this one.
