 | Poems by Two Brothers |  |
41
THE GONDOLA
“'Tis sweet to hear
“At midnight, o'er the blue and moon-lit deep,
“The song and oar of Adria's gondolier.”
Don Juan.
“At midnight, o'er the blue and moon-lit deep,
“The song and oar of Adria's gondolier.”
Don Juan.
O'er ocean's curling surges borne along,
Arion sung—the dolphin caught the strain,
As soft the mellow'd accents of his tongue
Stole o'er the surface of the watery plain.
Arion sung—the dolphin caught the strain,
As soft the mellow'd accents of his tongue
Stole o'er the surface of the watery plain.
And do those silver sounds, so deep, so clear,
Possess less magic than Arion's lay?
Swell they less boldly on the ravish'd ear,
Or with less cadence do they die away?
Possess less magic than Arion's lay?
Swell they less boldly on the ravish'd ear,
Or with less cadence do they die away?
Yon Gondola, that skims the moon-light sea,
Yields me those notes more wild than Houri's lyre,
That, as they rise, exalt to ecstacy,
And draw the tear as, length'ning, they expire.
Yields me those notes more wild than Houri's lyre,
That, as they rise, exalt to ecstacy,
And draw the tear as, length'ning, they expire.
42
An arch of purest azure beams above,
A sea, as blue, as beauteous, spreads below;
In this voluptuous clime of song and love
What room for sorrow? who shall cherish woe?
A sea, as blue, as beauteous, spreads below;
In this voluptuous clime of song and love
What room for sorrow? who shall cherish woe?
False thought! tho' pleasure wing the careless hours,
Their stores tho' Cyprus and Arabia send,
Tho' for the ear their fascinating power
Divine Timotheus and Cecilia blend;—
Their stores tho' Cyprus and Arabia send,
Tho' for the ear their fascinating power
Divine Timotheus and Cecilia blend;—
All without Virtue's relish fail to please,
Venetian charms the cares of Vice alloy,
Joy's swiftest, brightest current they can freeze,
And all the genuine sweets of life destroy!
Venetian charms the cares of Vice alloy,
Joy's swiftest, brightest current they can freeze,
And all the genuine sweets of life destroy!
C. T.
| Poems by Two Brothers | |