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139
ISOLA BELLA.
Cool, delicious break i' the domed waters,
Lying soft and still i' thy own green glory,
Gazing calmly up at the kindred heavens,—
Isola Bella!
Lying soft and still i' thy own green glory,
Gazing calmly up at the kindred heavens,—
Isola Bella!
Once, th' enfolding waves, coming in from ocean,
Brimm'd thy shelly marge with a wet and dazzling
Glaze, and girt thee round with a zone of splendour,
Isola Bella!
Brimm'd thy shelly marge with a wet and dazzling
Glaze, and girt thee round with a zone of splendour,
Isola Bella!
Once, the level winds, full of love and quiet,
Woo'd thy terraced lawns in a maze of eddies,
Skimming fuller scents fro' the lazy flowers,
Isola Bella!
Woo'd thy terraced lawns in a maze of eddies,
Skimming fuller scents fro' the lazy flowers,
Isola Bella!
Once, between the grass and the rustling tree-tops
Somewhere slid unseen fro' the cooing turtle
Whisper'd lullabies of a drowsy sweetness,
Isola Bella!
Somewhere slid unseen fro' the cooing turtle
Whisper'd lullabies of a drowsy sweetness,
Isola Bella!
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Once, thy woods were laced wi' the briony-bunches,
Thro' thick-matted ferns were the violets sending
Tender breaths of love to the meadow'd cowslips,
Isola Bella!
Thro' thick-matted ferns were the violets sending
Tender breaths of love to the meadow'd cowslips,
Isola Bella!
Woodruffe too was there, and the elfin blue-bell;
All the homely gems o' the earth were with thee,
Over all the hush o' the cool grey morning,
Isola Bella!
All the homely gems o' the earth were with thee,
Over all the hush o' the cool grey morning,
Isola Bella!
Ah! no more the breadths of enamell'd waters
Bathe thy winking sands; never now bright glimpses
Fret their glossy grass i' the sloping woodlands,
Isola Bella!
Bathe thy winking sands; never now bright glimpses
Fret their glossy grass i' the sloping woodlands,
Isola Bella!
Wanes the cushat's plaint in a vacant silence,—
No new broods are born to the dying flowers,—
Fades the fostering glow o' thy cloudness sunrise,
Isola Bella!
No new broods are born to the dying flowers,—
Fades the fostering glow o' thy cloudness sunrise,
Isola Bella!
Oh, so stript and shorn, while an alien darkness
Blots thy bare cold breast, and untimely autumns
Cloud thy beauty,—what shall be done to ease thee,
Isola Bella?
Blots thy bare cold breast, and untimely autumns
Cloud thy beauty,—what shall be done to ease thee,
Isola Bella?
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Storms shall track the ebb o' the gurgling waters,—
Every breeze absorb in a burst of thunder,—
Choke the hollow coo o' the treacherous turtle,—
Isola Bella!
Every breeze absorb in a burst of thunder,—
Choke the hollow coo o' the treacherous turtle,—
Isola Bella!
Ah, thy gentle soul never ask'd for vengeance!
Nestling sere and lorn by thy wither'd Edens
Thou wouldst fain forgive, and be sad for ever,
Isola Bella!
Nestling sere and lorn by thy wither'd Edens
Thou wouldst fain forgive, and be sad for ever,
Isola Bella!
Therefore, all the years, or in cloud or sun-gleams,
Sweet and certain charms shall be rife about thee,
Build a new for thee and a holier spring-time,
Isola Bella!
Sweet and certain charms shall be rife about thee,
Build a new for thee and a holier spring-time,
Isola Bella!
Therefore, all calm hues shall abide within thee—
Thou and perfect Peace shall have kiss'd each other
'Ere thy mellowing soul be dissolved in Heaven,
Isola Bella!
Thou and perfect Peace shall have kiss'd each other
'Ere thy mellowing soul be dissolved in Heaven,
Isola Bella!
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