 | Sonnets in Switzerland and Italy |  |
53
ISOLA-BELLA
Intricate marbles, ceilings lined with gold,
Grottoes for nymphs to hide in, with pretence
Of far sea murmur; man's omnipotence
Over the fiercer brute, in colours scrolled
On tapestries; great terraces that hold
Groves on their shoulders; here magnificence
Breathes from the earth, and over all is sense
Of some enchanter's magic manifold.
Grottoes for nymphs to hide in, with pretence
Of far sea murmur; man's omnipotence
Over the fiercer brute, in colours scrolled
On tapestries; great terraces that hold
Groves on their shoulders; here magnificence
Breathes from the earth, and over all is sense
Of some enchanter's magic manifold.
And we who, coasting by the gardens, feel
Fragrance of tropic flowers toward us fanned
From orange-fruited walls above the tide,
Almost forgive the men who on their seal
Engraved ‘Humility,’ but stamped their pride
Upon this marvellous isle in fairyland.
Fragrance of tropic flowers toward us fanned
From orange-fruited walls above the tide,
Almost forgive the men who on their seal
Engraved ‘Humility,’ but stamped their pride
Upon this marvellous isle in fairyland.
| Sonnets in Switzerland and Italy | |