 | Sonnets in Switzerland and Italy |  |
59
AT THE CHURCH DOOR, BAVENO
THE SOLDIER'S OATH
First came the German with his soldier's oath
To Caesar Imperator, and he vowed
To Julia, Dian, and Tarpeia proud,
Here above old Verbanus—nothing loth
To change for soft Italia's sunny sloth
His northern labour; the invader's cloud
Brake o'er the hills—to other gods were bowed
The stubborn necks of Hun and Visigoth.
To Caesar Imperator, and he vowed
To Julia, Dian, and Tarpeia proud,
Here above old Verbanus—nothing loth
To change for soft Italia's sunny sloth
His northern labour; the invader's cloud
Brake o'er the hills—to other gods were bowed
The stubborn necks of Hun and Visigoth.
Last came Heaven's Imperator, whom God sent
To be the word to all whoe'er should till
The vines on Motterone's bowery slope;
And now, while fragrant clouds the old church fill,
And the priest mumbles in his golden cope,
The pure in heart may claim Christ's sacrament.
To be the word to all whoe'er should till
The vines on Motterone's bowery slope;
And now, while fragrant clouds the old church fill,
And the priest mumbles in his golden cope,
The pure in heart may claim Christ's sacrament.
| Sonnets in Switzerland and Italy | |