LOUIS DE LIGNY TO LEONORA ALTAMURA.
(1495.)
The amber battlements of castled cloud;
The phantom isles that fool a ship at sea;
The congregated minarets that flee
And cheat the caravan's worn thirsty crowd;
All those lost towns which fishermen have vowed
They saw in lakes whose fathoms countless be,
While from the depths there rose up solemnly
A sound of bells, as on their oars they bowed:
There will we live together, thou and I;
Fit dwelling for such happiness as ours,
Which lasts but for a moment and must die;
Our palace with its evanescent towers
Melts back into the waters on the sky
As quickly as a dream that Dawn devours.
