Italy (Pinkney)


 * I

Know'st thou the land which lovers ought to choose? Like blessings there descend the sparkling dews; In gleaming streams the chrystal rivers run, The purple vintage clusters in the sun; Odours of flowers haunt the balmy breeze, Rich fruits hang high upon the vernant trees; And vivid blossoms gem the shady groves, Where bright-plumed birds discourse their careless loves, Beloved!—speed we from this sullen strand Until thy light feet press that green shore's yellow sand.
 * II

Look seaward thence, and naught shall meet thine eye But fairy isles like paintings on the sky; And, flying fast and free before the gale, The gaudy vessel with its glancing sail; And waters glittering in the glare of noon, Or touched with silver by the stars and moon, Or flecked with broken lines of crimson light When the far fisher's fire affronts the night. Lovely as loved!—towards that smiling shore Bear we our household gods, to fix for evermore.
 * III

It looks a dimple on the face of earth, The seal of beauty, and the shrine of mirth; Nature is delicate and graceful there, The place's genius, feminine and fair: The winds are awed, nor dare to breathe aloud; The air seems never to have borne a cloud, Save where volcanoes send to heav'n their curled And solemn smokes, like altars of the world. Thrice beautiful!—to that delightful spot Carry our married hearts, and be all pain forgot.
 * IV

There Art too shows, when Nature's beauty palls, Her sculptured marbles, and her pictured walls; And there are forms in which they both conspire To whisper themes that know not how to tire: The speaking ruins in that gentle clime Have but been hallowed by the hand of Time, And each can mutely prompt some thought of flame— The meanest stone is not without a name. Then come, beloved!—hasten o'er the sea To build our happy hearth in blooming Italy.