ROME, Rome! thou art no more As thou hast been! On thy seven hills of yore Thou satst a queen. Thou hadst thy triumphs then Purpling the street, Leaders and sceptred men Bowed at thy feet. They that thy mantle wore, As gods were seen -- Rome, Rome! thou art no more As thou hast been! Rome! thine imperial brow Never shall rise: What hast thou left thee now? -- Thou hast thy skies! Blue, deeply blue, they are, Gloriously bright! Veiling thy wastes afar With colored light. Thou hast the sunset's glow, Rome! for thy dower, Flushing tall cypress-bough, Temple and tower! And all sweet sounds are thine, Lovely to hear, While night, o'er tomb and shrine Rests darkly clear. Many a solemn hymn, By starlight sung, Sweeps through the arches dim, Thy wrecks among. Many a flute's low swell, On thy soft air Lingers and loves to dwell With summer there. Thou hast the south's rich gift Of sudden song -- A charming fountain, swift, Joyous and strong. Thou hast fair forms that move With queenly tread; Thou hast proud fanes above Thy mighty dead. Yet wears thy Tiber's shore A mournful mien: -- Rome, Rome! thou art no more As thou hast been! | Discover our Poem Explanations and Poet Analyses!Other Poems of Interest...REINFORCEMENTS by MARIANNE MOORE ON ANOTHER'S SORROW, FR. SONGS OF INNOCENCE by WILLIAM BLAKE LIFE'S MIRROR by MARY AINGE DE VERE THE MASTER-PLAYER by PAUL LAURENCE DUNBAR FIFTY FAGGOTS by PHILIP EDWARD THOMAS THE EPITAPH IN FORM OF A BALLAD by FRANCOIS VILLON TO THE MEN OF KENT by WILLIAM WORDSWORTH OBSERVATIONS IN THE ART OF ENGLISH POESY: 23. ELEGIAC VERSE: THE SIXTH EPIGRAM by THOMAS CAMPION |