 | Under the dawn |  |
ENGLAND TO ITALY.
[_]
[England's Charge to Italy on sending Keats, her well-loved son, thither for the restoration of his health, and Italy's answer. Written after reading Wordsworth's sonnet on the departure of Sir Walter Scott for Naples.]
Italia! Sister! to thy tender charge
With confidence I give my poet child;
Our winds and strenuous waves were all too wild
For him—his spirit lingers on the marge
Of icy death—approach, swift-footed barge,
And bear him o'er the waters undefiled,
To regions where perpetual Sol has smiled;
Let peace be his, and restoration large.
With confidence I give my poet child;
Our winds and strenuous waves were all too wild
For him—his spirit lingers on the marge
Of icy death—approach, swift-footed barge,
And bear him o'er the waters undefiled,
To regions where perpetual Sol has smiled;
Let peace be his, and restoration large.
Then let him with a vigorous step re-seek
The barrier of my iron-girdled shore,
Sweet-voiced as ever, but no longer weak,—
Singing from lustier throat than heretofore,—
With soft Italia's bloom upon his cheek;
Be speedy, sail, and smite the furrows, oar!
The barrier of my iron-girdled shore,
Sweet-voiced as ever, but no longer weak,—
Singing from lustier throat than heretofore,—
With soft Italia's bloom upon his cheek;
Be speedy, sail, and smite the furrows, oar!
| Under the dawn | |