Henry Wadsworth Longfellow, ed. Poems of Places: An Anthology in 31 Volumes.
Italy: Vols. XI–XIII. 1876–79. | | | | Posilipo | | Virgil’s Tomb | | William Gibson (1826–1887) |
| | | WE seek, as twilight saddens into gloom, | |
| A poet’s sepulchre; and here it is,— | |
| The summit of a tufa precipice. | |
| Ah! precious every drape of myrtle bloom | |
| And leaf of laurel crowning Virgil’s tomb! | 5 |
| The low vault entering, hark! what sound is this? | |
| The night is black beneath us in the abyss, | |
| Through one damp port disclosed, as from earth’s womb, | |
| That rumbling sound appalls us! Through the steep | |
| Is hewn Posilipo’s most marvellous grot; | 10 |
| And to the prince of Roman bards, whose sleep | |
| Is in this singular and lonely spot, | |
| Doth a wild rumor give a wizard’s name, | |
| Linking a tunnelled road to Maro’s fame! | | | | |
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