Henry Wadsworth Longfellow, ed. Poems of Places: An Anthology in 31 Volumes.
Italy: Vols. XI–XIII. 1876–79. | | | | Venice | | To Venice | | Walter Savage Landor (1775–1864) |
| | | DISHONORED thou hast been, but not debased, | |
| O Venice! he hastes onward who will bring | |
| The girdle that enclosed thy virgin waist, | |
| And will restore to thee thy bridal ring. | |
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| Venice! on earth are reptiles who lift high | 5 |
| The crested head, both venomous and strong | |
| Are they; and many by their fangs shall die, | |
| But one calm watcher crushes them erelong. | |
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| So fare who ever twists in tortuous ways, | |
| Strewn with smooth promises and broken vows, | 10 |
| Who values drunken shouts, not sober praise, | |
| And spurns the scanty pittance Truth allows. | | | | |
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