Poetry Explorer

Classic and Contemporary Poetry

SONNET: TO L.T. IN FLORENCE by THOMAS BAILEY ALDRICH

Poem Explanation Poet Analysis

First Line: YOU BY THE ARNO SHAPE YOUR MARBLE DREAM
Last Line: FOR ONE POOR COWSLIP OR ANEMONE.
Subject(s): ABSENCE; FLORENCE, ITALY; HOMESICKNESS; SEPARATION; ISOLATION;
YOU by the Arno shape your marble dream,
Under the cypress and the olive trees,
While I, this side the wild, wind-beaten seas,
Unrestful by the Charles's placid stream,
Long once again to catch the golden gleam
Of Brunelleschi's dome, and lounge at ease
In those pleached gardens and fair galleries.
And yet, perhaps, you envy me, and deem
My star the happier, since it holds me here.
Even so, one time, beneath the cypresses
My heart turned longingly across the sea,
Aching with love for thee, New England dear!
And I'd have given all Titian's goddesses
For one poor cowslip or anemone.



Home: PoetryExplorer.net