Classic and Contemporary Poetry
IN ITALY, by BAYARD TAYLOR Poet's Biography First Line: Dear lillian, all I wished is won! Last Line: Lies in the heart which mine hath won! Alternate Author Name(s): Taylor, James Bayard Subject(s): Dreams; Italy; Love; Memory; Nightmares; Italians | ||||||||
DEAR Lillian, all I wished is won! I sit beneath Italia's sun, Where olive-orchards gleam and quiver Along the banks of Arno's river. Through laurel leaves, the dim green light Falls on my forehead as I write, And the sweet chimes of vesper, ringing, Blend with the contadina's singing. Rich is the soil with Fancy's gold; The stirring memories of old Rise thronging in my haunted vision, And wake my spirit's young ambition. But as the radiant sunsets close Above Val d'Arno's bowers of rose, My soul forgets the olden glory, And deems our love a dearer story. Thy words, in Memory's ear, outchime The music of the Tuscan rhyme; Thou standest here -- the gentle hearted -- Amid the shades of bards departed. I see before thee fade away Their garlands of immortal bay, And turn from Petrarch's passion glances To my own dearer heart-romances. Sad is the opal glow that fires The midnight of the cypress spires, And cold the scented wind that closes The heart of bright Etruscan roses. A single thought of thee effaced The fair Italian dream I chased; For the true clime of song and sun Lies in the heart which mine hath won! | Discover our Poem Explanations and Poet Analyses!Other Poems of Interest...1851: A MESSAGE TO DENMARK HILL by RICHARD HOWARD TONIGHT THE HEART-SHAPED LEAVES by JAN HELLER LEVI JEWISH GRAVEYARDS, ITALY by PHILIP LEVINE SAILING HOME FROM RAPALLO by ROBERT LOWELL SUNLIGHT AND SHADOW by LISEL MUELLER HOW DUKE VALENTINE CONTRIVED by BASIL BUNTING FRAGMENTS FROM ITALY: 1 by JOHN CIARDI BEDOUIN [LOVE] SONG by BAYARD TAYLOR NATIONAL ODE; INDEPENDENCE SQUARE, PHILADELPHIA by BAYARD TAYLOR |
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