 | Sonnets in Switzerland and Italy |  |
54
ISOLA-BELLA
He reared a monument, who built this isle,
To show how patriot hearts forbade to roam
Amongst the olives and the vines of home,
Or the dark Austrian pines, must needs beguile
The weariness of longing; pile on pile
Grew with his terraces of borrowed loam,
Trees called the nesting nightingale to come,
Bare rock with flower and fruitage needs must smile.
To show how patriot hearts forbade to roam
Amongst the olives and the vines of home,
Or the dark Austrian pines, must needs beguile
The weariness of longing; pile on pile
Grew with his terraces of borrowed loam,
Trees called the nesting nightingale to come,
Bare rock with flower and fruitage needs must smile.
Ah! Borromeo, though the happy dove
Found rest within your cedars, though your flowers,
Your hills, your grots were consecrate to love,
Though all that wealth could give or art could raise
Above the wondering waters blessed your towers—
Freedom you wanted still, freedom and length of days!
Found rest within your cedars, though your flowers,
Your hills, your grots were consecrate to love,
Though all that wealth could give or art could raise
Above the wondering waters blessed your towers—
Freedom you wanted still, freedom and length of days!
| Sonnets in Switzerland and Italy | |